


You're an owl?

by hblake44



Category: K-pop, LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Hogwarts, Romance, jungeun is an owl, lipsoul, side ships way in the background, take nothing about this story seriously, there is no angst i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:21:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 27,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27716030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hblake44/pseuds/hblake44
Summary: The biggest mystery in Hogwarts is how Jungeun has managed to escape being expelled and become a prefect. Jinsoul is even more confused when Jungeun sets up a forest inside the school, transforms herself into an owl, and proceeds to terrorise the school.
Relationships: Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip
Comments: 28
Kudos: 198





	1. Chaotic idiots

**Author's Note:**

> The girls are sorted into the houses as according to Choerry's sorting. 
> 
> Ravenclaw: Yves (Sooyoung), Jinsoul and Heejin
> 
> Hufflepuff: Chuu (Jiwoo), Hyunjin, Choerry (Yerim), Yeojin 
> 
> Gryffindor: Vivi
> 
> Slytherin: Haseul, Kim Lip (Jungeun), Gowon (Chaewon), Olivia (Hyejoo)
> 
> ______
> 
> You do not need to know Harry Potter and the series to understand this story, only know that there're some people who know about the real world (non-magic people = muggles) and some who have no idea what it is. Also, an animagi is someone who's learned to turn themselves into an animal. You can't choose what animal you become, but it's instead the animal that you're most like.

“You can’t be serious,” Jinsoul said. “ _She’s_ the other option?” 

Haseul gave her a look. “ _She’s_ gotten good grades and hasn’t done all that bad for her team.”

“And what about the rest of the school?” she asked. “She’s flooded the bathroom how many times? She trashed the quidditch pitch a few times too.” 

“That was two years ago. The last time she sabotaged the balls was last year.”

“Exactly,” Jinsoul nodded, “ _last_ year.”

“And they still made her prefect.”

“That doesn’t mean it was a good idea!” she exclaimed. “She’s still in a war with Peeves.” Their poltergeist who hadn’t been exorcised from Hogwarts, despite having been a nuisance for centuries. He’d apparently defended the school a few times when threats came in. Maybe that was why. 

But even then, Jinsoul prayed every month that he and Jungeun wouldn’t make it a contest to see who could cause the most chaos in the school. It’d started in first year. Six years later, and Jungeun was still conjuring random ink bottles or even squids when she saw the poltergeist. He wasn’t much better. Sometimes he was worse. 

“Lovegood gets a kick out of it,” Vivi chimed in. “And most of the school loves it when she starts the ectoplasm fight.”

"Until it hits you." Jinsoul gave her a pointed look. 

“But even she gets suspended when it gets on the paintings.” Haseul shook her head, but she was smiling. 

To Jinsoul, it was still a wonder that Jungeun hadn’t actually been expelled. "And when they make her head girl, she’ll be making that a tradition.” 

Vivi gave her a look. “It already is and you know it.”

Jinsoul did. And it just made it all even worse. 

“Soul,” Haseul squeezed her arm, “she’s not the only option. And even if she was, she’d get her act together for head girl. She already did as prefect.”

“Half the year forgot she was one,” Jinsoul replied. 

“But she never missed a patrol,” Haseul chuckled, “unlike someone.” 

She elbowed her. “Stop,” she aimed a kick at her ankle, “Minnie liked me enough to be fine with it. And I was actually busy.”

“Wasn’t it your personal request _never_ to be paired with her?” Vivi raised a brow. 

Jinsoul blushed. 

“And instead she got every boy she ever rejected, or would reject.” Haseul snickered.

“Minnie thought she was doing me a favour?” 

Vivi cackled. “She had to make it seem like you weren’t her favourite.”

Jinsoul walked faster, knowing she was already on the losing end of whatever this conversation was. 

Haseul hooked their arms, pulling her back. 

“Please tell me we’re going to have a competition,” Vivi said, now on her other side. “I’d love to see that showdown.” 

“I’m not competing with anyone,” Jinsoul shook her head, “if they choose her, then I’ll just have to watch how fireworks go off in the Great Hall. Every week."

The two proceeded to tease her, while ever so slightly flirting with each other. Jinsoul didn’t know what she hated more. 

And when they got to the Great Hall, she spotted a newly blonde head of hair. She heard the screech of her laugh too. It didn’t fit with a face like what she had. Her face also didn’t fit everything she was known for. 

Jinsoul made sure to keep her eyes on the Ravenclaw table, not the one adorned with green robes. 

The problem wasn’t even that she was a Slytherin. Haseul was the perfect example that Slytherins were _not_ the problem anymore. 

No, the problem was Jungeun herself and that she was notorious for most of the destruction that’d taken place within Hogwarts for the past six years she’d been here. Nothing had stopped her, not the hundreds of points she’d probably lost for her house since first year, not the countless suspensions, or even the jinxes people had left for her in retaliation for ruined robes or missing eyebrows. 

Somehow, Jungeun was still in school, despite being its resident menace. She was on the quidditch team, even though she’d hexed the brooms of people in her _own_ house. And she was a prefect. The strictest she’d ever been had been when she'd taken off fifty points from a drunk sixth year. Most of the time she just took off five points and let the person she’d caught either go back to their common room or keep going to whatever place they’d been sneaking off to. 

And now they wanted her to become the next head girl. Not just the students, but the professors too. 

Jinsoul often wondered if she’d missed something about Hogwarts school. Had the ideal student changed into someone who’d committed to being a semi-fiend all throughout her years at school?

Then she heard a blaring laugh, half a screech.

Jinsoul watched how Jungeun threw her head back, brow furrowed as she laughed. She swatted at Chaewon's arm, saying something.

She always laughed without regard for how it sounded. Jinsoul's own laugh was also loud. She usually held it back.

Jungeun calmed down after about a minute. Then she shook her head, fiddling with her fork. She glanced up, met Jinsoul's eyes, and smiled.

Jinsoul looked away, feeling her face warm at being caught looking. 

Vivi gave her a look.

Jinsoul turned her attention back to her food, ignoring the next burst of laughter that came from the other side of the hall. 

______

Jinsoul was walking along the fifth floor when she heard a sound. It was followed by a sharp curse. 

Immediately, she drew her wand and ran for the stairs. 

Then she saw who was there and lowered her wand. 

Jungeun looked up, her eyes widening. She clearly hadn’t expected her, if the flash of panic was anything to go by. Several dark blue boxes were floating around her. One was currently on the ground. 

“What the hell is that?” 

Jungeun’s face broke into a smile. It reminded Jinsoul of a complete maniac. “Portable forest.” She patted one of the boxes. “Sorry I dropped one, lost my train of thought.” 

“It’s not even your shift today.” Jinsoul debated whether or not she’d just take sixty points from Slytherin then and there. “And what do you even need a forest for? And where’s it going?” 

“One,” she raised a hand, showing off her absurdly long nails, “that’s why I’m doing this today. I’m off the clock.” She winked. “Two, there was this one centaur who turned a classroom into a literal forest.” She waved her wand and the boxes rose into the air again. “Three, I’m going to the seventh floor. I’m _not_ using a used classroom.” She walked up, a spring in her step. “So I’m not breaking any rules.”

“You’re not patrolling any halls, and it’s one in the morning.” _And you’re acting like it’s Christmas Eve._

The smile she still had on wasn’t any less terrifying. 

“If I’m the worst threat tonight, I guess that’s an okay shift.” Jungeun carefully angled the boxes away from the paintings, her brow furrowed in concentration. “I’m impressed.” 

“By?” 

“You’re not knocked out,” she chuckled, “I saw Heejin. Hyunjin’s her pillow. Lucy’s chanting out some sort of thing involving that Girls Generation group she likes. I didn’t even see the other Hyunjin on the third floor, and then four just had Haseul and Vivi cramming for DADA. Somehow.” She laughed. “I guess I should’ve expected that.” She was leaning against the banister, the boxes of trees, and whatever else there was, just floating around her. 

“Expected what? Me to be awake?” 

“To still be walking the hall,” Jungeun replied. “I knew you’d be awake. Don’t you use that monster thing Yerim’s always ordering?” 

“It’s an energy drink,” Jinsoul corrected. “You should probably drink it before class.”

“Nah,” she shrugged, “no real point.” 

“Please don’t tell me you’re getting a potion for that,” Jinsoul grimaced, “is that how you’re always like,” she waved at her, “ _this_ in the middle of the night?”

Something flickered across her face. It looked like panic. 

“I’ve tried both,” Jungeun lifted her hands, “and they make me nervous. Plus I don’t have to stay awake in class anymore.”

“Right,” Jinsoul rolled her eyes, “that quill.”

“Yep,” she laughed, “ _that_ quill. My greatest investment.”

“It’s for cheating.”

“I’m not a cheater!” Jungeun protested. “I just learn best at night, alright?” Her brow twitched. 

Jinsoul didn’t comment on the rhyme.

“Anyway,” Jungeun said, leaning forward. “I’m not breaking any rules. I’m not destroying any school property. So you can’t take those points I know you really want to take off.” The corner of her lip curled upwards.

Jinsoul wished more than anything that she could cast a little jinx on her. Maybe make her voice sound like a mouse, or transfigure her into a fish, just for a few hours. There were two reasons she didn’t do either. One, Jungeun would retaliate with something even worse (Jinsoul knew. She’d been bald for a week because of it).

Two, Jinsoul couldn’t transfigure something right unless she’d just had a breakdown from the highest of pressures. For her O.W.Ls, she’d gone to the Hospital Wing twice for a calming draught and had still managed to turn the flowers into a fish, instead of a snail. It’d only been after she’d been surrounded by bowtruckles, flown all across the school, and swum in the Great Lake, that she’d even gotten an Acceptable for Transfiguration. It was still a proud moment in her life. 

Jungeun, on the other hand, was an expert at Transfuguration, always way ahead of anyone, even when it came to conjuring, something they should've only really been mastering next year. 

The day she’d learned conjuration had also been the day she’d been suspended for a week. Jungeun had conjured a shoal of piranhas, before insisting on summoning enough water to flood the classroom so that they could all breathe. She hadn’t let Professor Son vanish them either. That meant people had needed to take care of them. 

Jinsoul had had a piranha for the course of a month after that. She’d named it Toothless. He’d vanished at the end of it, Jungeun’s conjuration having had a time limit. 

She’d be lying if she said that wasn’t one of the reasons she had a grudge. 

“But don’t worry, once your head girl, you’ll probably be able to fire me.” Jungeun was looking up at the ceiling, so much so that Jinsoul was almost worried she fall off the stairs. 

“Once I’m head girl?” Did Jungeun know she was a candidate? Or had she been asleep during those rumours. Probably that. She’d already been dozing during charms today. 

“Well,” she shrugged, “as much as I’d love to be the one to set up your schedule and have diplomatic immunity, you and I both know I’d suck.” 

Jinsoul didn’t want to agree aloud, but she nodded. 

“Ouch,” Jungeun snickered, “but you can say it.”

What was she supposed to say to that? She agreed? Incompetent may not have been the word for it? Just really, _really_ irresponsible? 

“But anyway.” Jungeun suddenly looked excited, but also nervous. “Do you wanna see it when it’s finished?” 

Jinsoul grimaced. Way too excited for this time of day. “I am _not_ getting attacked by birds today.” 

“You won’t be,” she said, her smile fading. She looked more nervous than excited now. 

“And what happens when you turn the seventh floor into a swamp?” 

“Then I’m an idiot,” Jungeun said simply. “But it won’t go wrong.” Then she grimaced, looking to the floor. “I mean, it won’t end in a disaster. Probably.” She bit her lip. 

Jinsoul narrowed her eyes. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Yeah,” she nodded several times, “there may or may not be a broom closet where I—”

“Jungeun,” she pointed up the stairs, “leave me alone before I actually think of a reason why you’re not allowed to be here.”

The Slytherin’s smile reappeared. “I can always tell you where the damage is.”

“Go away,” Jinsoul shooed her, “I’m _this_ close to taking away fifty points for vandalism.”

“It’s not vandalism this time!” Jungeun sprang from the banister. “I’ll show you when it’s finished.” Another flash of something in her expression before it was hidden behind a smile. She seemed stressed, but how could she be when she was actually telling Jinsoul about what she was doing? 

She grabbed her shoulders and pushed her to the first of the steps.

“Wait.” Jungeun grabbed the banister, stopping both of them. She turned her head, wearing a surprisingly warm gaze. 

Jinsoul leaned away. “What?” Her face was already warming up. 

“Will you check it out?” she asked, looking almost hopeful. “Like actually go in?”

“When I know it’s safe.” 

“Don’t you trust me?” Jungeun cocked a brow. 

“No.” Jinsoul kept pushing, but Jungeun wouldn’t budge. 

“I wouldn’t lie to you about this.” 

“You lied to my face when you destroyed the Prefect’s Bathroom.” 

Jungeun blushed, looking away. “You were pretty close to killing me, so I bought some time.” She glanced up. “You cool off quickly.”

Jinsoul scowled. “You were hiding in the dungeons, because you knew I was still going to kill you and Haseul was too nice to let me.”

Jungeun took a sudden step forward. 

Jinsoul stumbled after her, knocking into her then. She got a whiff of jasmine and roses. 

Jungeun’s arms moved back, steadying her. 

“Sorry,” she said, sounding as if she was close to giggling. “But I’ve learned my lesson and this’s nothing like that. Or next week.” 

“Next week?” Jinsoul pulled away. 

“That’s something where you can take points off,” Jungeun replied. “I’ll do it myself if you want.”

“Do you like being suspended?” She stared at her.

“Well it’s not that bad,” Jungeun shrugged, “you should try it. It’s great to be _here_ and not be allowed to go to class. Detention’s not too bad either.”

“Because you get to catch up on all the sleep you miss."

“Yep. And I get to set up for the next classes, retransfiguring and catching the mice that escaped,” she smiled, “pretty big waste of time.” Then she laughed once. “Oh, and sabotaging your matchboxes was pretty fun.”

Jinsoul took a deep breath, wondering if there’d be consequences for sealing Jungeun’s mouth for a day. “Don’t forget the goblet and the rat.” When said goblet had turned into a rat and tried to gnaw on her wand. There'd been more, but she hadn't thought about that for a while. 

She grinned. “You remember?” 

“That is _not_ a good thing.” Jinsoul went back to her hallway. “Go do whatever it is you’re doing, Jungeun.” 

She saluted, before starting to go up the stairs. She still had that lightness to her step. “Goodnight, Jinsoul,” she called back. 

Jinsoul ignored her. 

It wasn’t that Jungeun was a bitch. She rarely was, even if she did have a short temper. She’d just proven herself to be the most annoying person in the entire school. And had still managed to escape expulsion and being the most-hated person in Hogwarts. It was exactly the opposite. 

After what seemed like twenty minutes, Jungeun came back, poking her head around the corner. Jinsoul nearly jumped out of her skin. It was too late for this. She was nearly finished. 

“You know you’re not supposed to be patrolling the halls alone, right?”

“You’re the scariest thing about this place.” Jinsoul pocketed her wand. “And you’re lucky I didn’t blast you off the stairs for that.”

Jungeun leaned against the arch. She looked at her, not saying anything. There was a smile on her face. 

Jinsoul didn’t trust it for a second. “Finished setting up your next trap?” She’d avoid the seventh floor for as long as she could for the whole weekend. She was lucky they didn’t have class tomorrow. 

Jungeun’s brow rose. “Not yet,” she winked, “it needs time.” She fiddled with her robes, looking nervous again. 

“It’s got an incubation period?” 

Her eyebrows rose higher. “It’s not a science project.”

“Right, that was for the train.” 

Jungeun laughed, brow now furrowed. “Everyone there was my witness,” she placed a hand over her heart, “that wasn’t my fault.”

“It was still your trunk.” 

“I was gonna see how Chem and Potions work together!” Jungeun pulled away from the wall. "You can't tell me that isn't interesting."

“You could’ve ordered it.” Jinsoul crossed her arms. “Amazon delivers here now.”

“I don’t have Prime,” she replied. “And the shipping to here is everything I _can’t_ pay.” 

“That’s a good thing,” Jinsoul smiled, “no exploding acids.”

“It was phosphorous,” she corrected. 

“Whatever it was, it exploded.”

Jungeun huffed, but didn’t say anything else. She knew damn well she couldn’t defend that. 

“Now get back up those stairs,” Jinsoul pointed to them, “because I’m tired and I don’t want to be reminded about my hair almost burning off.”

“Okay.” Jungeun took a few steps back. Then her eyes lit up. “Actually,” she started, “you could go already. I’ll be here for the rest of it.”

She was torn between two things. Just saying yes and finally getting to sleep, or forcing Jungeun to go back to whatever monstrosity she was planning. 

“I’m not tired at all,” Jungeun said. “And you look like shit.” 

Jinsoul wondered if she couldn’t just drench her in ice water instead. She’d been dying to try out that variation of the charm. 

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Jungeun added, a bit hurriedly. “You just look like this was a bad day for patrol.” She glanced at the floor before looking back. “But maybe it’s better if you go sleep or something.” Was she nervous? 

That meant she was planning something. 

“You can try out that legilimency stuff if you want,” Jungeun continued. “You’re not gonna regret this.”

For a moment, Jinsoul was surprised Jungeun even remembered she was taking that elective. 

“Come on,” Jungeun was leaning from one foot to the next, “it’ll do you good to sleep more than six hours.” 

Jinsoul scoffed. “That’s rich.” She swore Jungeun was somehow nocturnal. Yerim was always complaining that she had to wake Jungeun up when they had to be in the library. Jinsoul was still nervous that Jungeun had been corrupting Yerim into joining in on the chaos. She’d started doing that. And Jinsoul could never take points away from Yerim, so she did it for Slytherin instead. 

Jungeun just smiled. “I catch up during the day.” Then she carefully grabbed her arm, pulling her to the stairs. “I’ll make sure no one starts wandering,” she said. “And if they do, I’ll actually take off some points.”

“And?”

Jungeun rolled her eyes. “And send them back to their dorms.” She gave her a look. “You’re acting like you never snuck out, and don’t even try to tell me you didn’t. I know all about your escapades to go and find centaurs, or was it hippogriffs?”

“Both.” 

A light laugh. “Of course.” She stopped at the top of the stairs. “You know there’s a second year with a pet dragon?”

“Really?” Jinsoul felt a little bit more awake at that. “Do they have it under control?”

Jungeun shrugged. “You’d probably be the better judge of that.” 

“Did their robes look burnt?”

“Nope,” she said. “And no one’s been complaining yet, so I think they’re okay so far.” She raised an eyebrow. “Want me to introduce you two?”

Jinsoul was almost ready to agree. Then she narrowed her eyes. 

“Come on!” Jungeun exclaimed. “I’m being serious about that too.” 

“It’s hard to tell sometimes.” 

Her brow furrowed, but not from laughter. She looked like she was actually thinking. “Good to know,” she muttered, barely a whisper. 

“What?”

Jungeun’s expression smoothed over. “Nothing,” she patted her shoulder, “now go sleep.” She went back to the hall. “I’ve got this.” 

“Weren’t you just telling me it’s a bad idea to patrol alone?” A few years ago, there’d been a student who’d fallen down the stairs. Everyone had thought it’d been an accident at first, but it’d been proven it hadn’t been. For three years after that, all patrols had been done with three people, rotating every three hours to make sure no one got too tired. Now prefects were allowed to be alone, but the current Head Girl and Boy checked each floor. 

“Well,” Jungeun twirled her wand between her fingers, “I react faster than you do.” She smirked ever so slightly. “And I’m probably the most awake here.”

“You could be pretty close to a crash,” Jinsoul replied. 

“I’m not,” she said. “Trust me.”

Jinsoul looked at her for a long moment. 

“At least a little?” Jungeun pouted. “I’m not that bad, am I?”

“I’ll answer that next week,” she told her. “And if your next prank leads to someone getting injured, or ruins _anyone’s_ hair, robes, or books, I’m not holding back.” 

“So it can damage school property?” Jungeun brightened. “Deal.” 

“That doesn’t mean—”

“Goodnight!” Jungeun was already disappearing around the corner. “Sleep well.” 

Jinsoul knew she could’ve followed her, but just the thought of sleep made her start going down the stairs. She said goodnight to whoever she saw, before going straight to the dorms to get ready for bed. 

Once she left the bathroom, she nearly tripped over a cup of instant ramen. Sooyoung had fallen in love with them when Jiwoo had introduced them to her. She’d also shut up about muggle technology after Jiwoo had gotten a microwave to work. Jiwoo had managed a lot of great things. 

Jinsoul crept past Sooyoung who looked like she’d thrown herself onto her bed. She’d probably been cramming for the make-up test in Herbology. Jinsoul’s had had hers for Transfiguration today. She still didn’t know if she’d failed that one.

But the moment her head touched her pillow, she forgot all about Jungeun and whatever disaster was going to come up, as well as the mountain of work she still had to get done. 

______

If there was one thing for all of the sixth and seventh years to look forward to in a month, it was the monthly ‘study day’. Sometimes there were more of them in the same month, other times only one. Some people took it serious, Jinsoul and Haseul included, while others, namely Sooyoung and Vivi, didn’t really want to. 

But they weren’t there yet. The day off let them have a longer breakfast. 

It was the fourth time they’d had this since school started, but Jinsoul still loved it. 

She was currently shovelling cereal down, already ready to dig into the muffins one of the house elves had made for the day. She’d made that request last week. Hermione Granger had once tried to free the house elves of Hogwarts. Almost all of them had refused. What some of them actually seemed to appreciate was when people actually visited and engaged a bit more. 

Hyunjin took that concept to another level. In her second year, she’d asked them to make cinnamon rolls. Then she’d shown them the recipe. The next year, one of the elves had taught her a newly improved version of it. And they’d gone back and forth with it. 

And that was also how Jinsoul was able to occasionally request a baked good to come with her breakfast. She’d needed to ask for a few more, because people (Hyunjin and Jiwoo) tended to come over to their table to steal some. 

As if on cue, Jinsoul saw Jiwoo coming over to them from the Hufflepuff table. She was wearing a jumper striped with purple and white. It would’ve looked hideous on anyone else. Yerim was with her, wearing a smile just as wide. She hugged Jinsoul as soon as she sat down. 

“Can I?” Chuu’s smile brightened when she saw the muffins. 

Jinsoul hummed, taking another bite. 

“You’re gonna choke,” Yerim said from her other side. “Slow down.”

“I’m hungry.”

“So am I.” Haseul elbowed her from her other side. “But am I acting like I’ve never seen food before?”

“Have you seen Jungeun yet?” Jiwoo asked. “I thought she’d be down by now.”

Jinsoul set her attention back to her breakfast. Yesterday evening felt a bit surreal now that she thought about it. Jungeun had seemed both completely at ease and fully on edge. 

“She wasn’t even in the dorm today.” Haseul was quiet for a moment. “Did she have something today?” 

“No,” Jiwoo said quickly. “I mean, I don’t think so. Did you see her yet?”

Jinsoul glanced up at her. “No.”

Yerim looked up then. “Really?” 

She just shook her head. 

Then Jiwoo sat down as well. The conversation went to the upcoming quidditch match. It was between Hufflepuff and Slytherin. 

“Chaewon and Hyejoo keep joking that they’re gonna jump Yerim,” Haseul was frowning, “but I’m getting worried they mean it.”

“They won’t!” Yerim said brightly. 

“Don’t take any food from them,” she warned. “Not even if one of them eats it first.” 

Yerim looked confused, before shaking her head. She smiled again. “I’ve got class now. If I survive potions, then we’ll know I’m safe.” With that, she grabbed a muffin, getting to her feet. “But keep an eye out for Jungie,” she told Jinsoul, “she told me she’d,” her eyes widened slightly, “she was gonna help me with transmutation today.” Then she walked off, waving as she went. Her step was a little too quick. 

Sooyoung spoke up then. “Those two wouldn’t dare touch her.” She winked at Jiwoo then. “Yerim’s got you protecting them _and_ Jungeun holding the two devils back.” Then she laughed. “Plus Soul.” 

Jinsoul shoved her lightly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your last threat was sending a niffler after someone.” Hyunjin grabbed a muffin, ripping off a large piece. “And before that it’d been the raccoon.”

“Both’re intimidating. Eevie would’ve taken all his money _and_ that Rolex.”

“What about the racoon?”

“Any animal can get threatening if they have to.” Jinsoul had _several_ stories about that, even in the muggle world. 

“Otters can’t,” Hyunjin said. 

“Same for slugs,” Jiwoo said. “And snails.”

“You’re just saying that because you kept one around for a few weeks,” Sooyoung shot back. She was grimacing, as if remembering the disgust she’d felt. 

“Anyway,” Haseul interjected, “keep reminding Yerim to be careful around anything or they give her. They might slip her a puking pastille or something.” 

“If they really wanted to get something done, they’d mix it in a drink.” Hyunjin looked completely serious. 

Haseul sighed. “Don’t give them _any_ ideas.”

Jiwoo had started to fidget. She was looking around the Great Hall. She looked worried. 

“You really haven’t seen her?” she asked, looking at Jinsoul. 

“No.” She kept eating. 

Jiwoo looked more surprised at that than she should’ve been. “And yesterday?” 

Fighting a frown, she shrugged. “I mean we had class.” 

Still, Jiwoo looked unconvinced. She even looked at Sooyoung, a question in her eyes. 

Jinsoul followed her gaze, only to see Sooyoung give a tiny shake of her head. 

What did that mean?

“And after?” 

“Jiwoo,” Jinsoul set down her spoon, “we don’t exactly talk during class or outside of it.” And if Jungeun was ever at the Ravenclaw table, they were almost always a good distance away from each other. 

“But did you see her after class yesterday?” 

Jinsoul tried not to let her frustration show. “I saw her at the end of patrol. She was setting up some other prank.” Then she sent a look Haseul’s way. “And before you say anything, no, I didn’t take any points off.“ She wondered why there hadn’t been anyone going on and on about the forest. 

“She already told you about it?” Sooyoung looked bewildered. 

“You know about this already?” Jinsoul narrowed her eyes. “You know when whatever’s going to happen’ll happen?” 

Neither of them looked any less confused. Jinsoul just felt more lost. Luckily, Haseul looked like she also had no idea what they were talking about. 

“So you didn’t see it?” Jiwoo asked, eyes flickering between Jinsoul and Sooyoung. 

“See what?” 

They exchanged another look. 

“I’ll go find her,” Jiwoo stood, “you should get Chae.” She sent a pointed look too Sooyoung. 

“Don’t they have class?” Jinsoul asked. 

Sooyoung just shrugged. 

Then they were gone. 

Jinsoul looked to Hyunjin and Haseul. 

“What the hell was that?” 

“No idea.” Haseul picked up the last muffin in the bowl. “Eat. Then we’re going.”

______

The day was going fine. Great even. Jinsoul had a massive pile of work for Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, _and_ Care of Magical Creatures, along with three spells she needed to practice for DADA. Still, she was making progress. Finally.

Until she heard a shriek. Then a very loud squawk. It barely even sounded like an animal. 

Jinsoul whipped her head around, only to see Hyejoo throwing a book at a white bird. It missed and hit Chan in the face. 

“Sorry!” Chaewon called. She ran onto one of the tables narrowly missing the books scattered across it. She drew her wand. “ _Immobulus!_ ” Blue light shot from the tip. It also missed. 

Jinsoul ducked when the bird came her way. 

Haseul screamed, scrambling away. Her legs kicked into Jinsoul’s side. She was afraid a rib had broken. 

“Everybody _calm_ _down_ ,” Madame Kang shouted. “It’s just an owl.” 

“Just an owl?” Hyejoo rushed past her. “It almost killed me.” Her eyes scanned the room. Jinsoul realised then she was bleeding. 

Then there was a flurry of white. It came from the Transfiguration section. The owl had a book in its claws. 

Madame Kang gasped. A stunning spell flew through the air in the next moment. 

The next thing that happened was a sudden burst of speed from the owl. Then the window shattered. There was a sharp shriek and the owl was gone. 

“You've gotta be kidding me.” Hyejoo kicked a table. 

“Out!” Madame Kang pointed to the door. “Get me that book back and you won’t lose twenty points for letting that thing in here.” 

The dark haired girl stalked out. 

Chaewon was watching her, a concerned frown on her face. 

“Sorry!” She hurried over to Jinsoul and Haseul. “I don’t know how it happened. We were on the seventh floor and then this owl comes out. We panic and Hye sent a snake it’s way. Then it attacked both of us, before,” she grimaced, “coming here.” 

“You mean you chased it here.” Jinsoul said. She handed Haseul a tissue. She was shivering. 

“You too,” Madame Kang was at their table, “but make sure she actually goes to the Hospital Wing too.” 

Chaewon nodded. 

“I’ll come with,” Jinsoul stood, “because neither of you‘re going to harm that owl.” 

Haseul was already shaking her head. “You are _not_ turning this into another protection mission. I hated that niffler.” 

“Eevie was cute,” Jinsoul shot back. She packed up her things. “And she got you that necklace.” 

“It was Vivi’s.” Haseul gave her a look. “She was panicking until she realised it’d come to me.” 

She shrugged and followed Chaewon out of the library, passing some of the chaos the owl had caused, including a still dazed Chan who was clutching his head. 

“I’m really sorry,” Chaewon said. “She was aiming for the bird.” 

He smiled, shaking his head. He still looked dazed. “Don’t worry about it. I was falling asleep anyway.” 

Before they left, Jinsoul looked at the massive log for all the books. It was enchanted to keep track of which books were out. Also by who. 

The most recent didn’t have a name belonging to it. 

“Might wanna remember that,” Jinsoul said. “I don’t think the owl still has it.”

Hyejoo was waiting outside the door, glowering at the floor. 

“Aren’t you two supposed to be in class?” 

“Not today,” Chaewon said with a smile, while Hyejoo just shrugged. 

“Are you coming with?” she asked, looking notably happier than a second ago. 

“Yes,” Jinsoul said as they walked last, “and you’re not killing anything.” 

Hyejoo’s expression soured, but she followed. “And once you realise it’s evil?” 

“Then it goes in a cage,” she replied. “Like every other time, no cats, no bowtruckles, _no owls_ , or anything else is getting killed or even hexed by any of you.” She had no idea what she’d do if it happened, but she didn’t let that show. 

“Okay,” Hyejoo muttered. “I’m hitting it with my bat.” 

“No!” Jinsoul turned on her, ready to drag her directly to the Hospital Wing. Then it dawned on her. “But we should get our brooms.” 

Surprisingly, they both nodded. 

“How’d this happen?” Jinsoul asked. 

“Found it on the seventh floor,” Hyejoo said, still stewing. “Attacked me the second I opened the door.”

“It was stuck in a room?” She wondered if it’d been trapped there. She hoped it hadn’t been on purpose. Otherwise she was hunting down the person responsible for it. 

Chaewon nodded. “And because her first reaction is always violence,” she poked the girl’s side, “she tried to stun it.” Then she sent her a pointed look. “And _then_ she tried to send a snake after it.”

Jinsoul’s heart sank. “No wonder you scared it.” She smacked Hyejoo’s good arm. “No wonder it _attacked_ you.” 

Hyejoo scrambled to get behind Chaewon who was just laughing. 

“I’m the one catching it.”

“So we’ll flank it?” Chaewon frowned. 

“More like you’ll be moral support,” Jinsoul replied. “Neither of you’re allowed to even touch a feather on that owl.”

“You can’t be serious,” Hyejoo stared at her, “you can’t catch that thing on your own.”

“Not a thing,” Jinsoul raised a finger at her, “plus, I can and I will catch that owl.”

“I can get Jungeun,” Chaewon said suddenly. “She’d love this.” 

Clearly, they hadn’t found her yet. 

Hyejoo elbowed the blue-haired girl. She was smirking about something. 

“We’re not getting her.” Jinsoul shuddered at the thought. “She’ll just smuggle it into Gryffindor’s dorms.” And as much as she didn’t like quite a few of them, she didn’t want to be on the other side of Vivi Wong’s wrath. Haseul’s girlfriend was a sweetheart until you messed with either her things, the space she was currently in, or the people she liked. She didn’t really mind if the library was trashed, only if it was trashed while she was studying. 

Also, Jinsoul was sure that she’d hate the owl if it came into the common room. She shuddered just thinking about what could happen. 

Chaewon’s eyes lit up. “Now that’s an idea.” 

Jinsoul looked at her for a long moment, slightly terrified. “You’re just like her.” 

“Nope,” she smirked, “I’m better.” 

“Thank Merlin they didn’t make you prefect.” 

“They might still pick some for sixth year,” Hyejoo shrugged, “if enough people ask.” 

“Or the right head girl picks me.” Chaewon nudged Jinsoul’s side. “I’d make a great prefect, wouldn’t I?” She looked up at her with innocent eyes. 

Jinsoul regretted leaving the library. 

If she got that owl out of this alive, she’d take the day off. 

______

Finding the owl wasn’t hard. They just needed to find the place where people were screaming. And spells were flying. 

“Oh my god,” Chaewon muttered. “What kind of animal _is_ that?” She looked at her broom. “And is it worth losing an eye?”

“Owls don’t go for the eyes,” Jinsoul replied. “Phoenixes do.” She started jogging towards the chaos. She could see the white flicker through the air. Every time the owl tried to leave, some spell, or other projectile, stopped it. Was it hurt?

“Big difference,” Hyejoo muttered. She drew out her wand. 

“Put that away!” Jinsoul sped up. “You scared it first, and now it’s terrified.”She wondered how close the owl was to getting a heart attack. 

Then she saw it finally escape the spells being thrown at it. 

Jinsoul got on her broom, kicking off the ground, looking at what’d just happened. People were cursing, glaring up at the sky. Others were sitting on the ground, stunned. Some had been running away. 

Somehow, the owl had decided to draw in every single student who’d come outside for their day off. 

A few people whooped when they saw Jinsoul fly by. 

“Get it!” 

“Don’t make it your new pet,” someone else shouted. It was Yeojin. Beside her was Yerim with a sheepish smile. 

Jinsoul flew up beyond the hill, searching the air for the owl. It felt good to be in the air again. She hadn’t been at practice for a good week, all the work completely dragging her down. 

In the corner of her eye, she saw it. In the sunlight, its feathers glinted red. 

The owl was flying up to the Astronomy Tower. 

Chaewon passed her, Hyejoo close behind. They both had their wands out. 

Jinsoul urged her broom to go further. There was a good chance they’d actually hex it. Then she’d have to explain to some first year how their pet died.

She hadn’t been flying across the school for quite some time. It felt good to not be in the stadium. She always loved flying above the school (when she was allowed to). 

She caught up with the two Slytherins. The owl was still out of their reach. Jinsoul knew for a fact that they both couldn’t aim. 

“You both suck at this.” Jinsoul shoulder checked Hyejoo as she passed. 

The curses that were sent her way were lost to the wind. 

She left them at the Gryffindor tower, finally getting the broom to its full speed. 

The owl was rounding Astronomy. From this distance, noting the colouring too, Jinsoul realised the owl was female. 

The bird's head turned. She screeched.

Jinsoul nearly fell off her broom. The sound had been awfully familiar. 

The owl dove down, wings folding. She was basically in free fall. Right towards one of the courtyards. 

Jinsoul followed, bewildered by what she was seeing. Owls didn’t do that. 

She let herself enjoy the rushing wind passing her, billowing through her robes. She loved how the various structures of Hogwarts passed her by. 

The owl suddenly flew upwards. 

Jinsoul narrowly evaded one of the smaller towers as she did the same. 

The bird proceeded to go into another courtyard, in between the archways. They weren’t that crowded. 

Jinsoul followed, hearing people shout in alarm. The owl nearly flew into someone’s face. 

“Sorry!” she yelled as she passed by. 

The owl flew into one of the tunnels. It was a longer one. 

Jinsoul pulled out her wand, casting _lumos_ in her head. 

She saw a few students crouching down. She saw the owl look back, the light reflecting in her eyes. There was a red sheen to them as well. 

Then the owl disappeared from view as soon as the tunnel ended. 

Jinsoul looked up, only to see her flying upwards in a steep line. She wasn’t sure if owls were supposed to be able to fly like that. And even if they could, they weren’t supposed to. 

This owl was also a lot faster than normal owls were. 

Jinsoul flew up as well, but aimed her wand at the owl, praying she’d make it. “ _Immobulus!_ ”

She missed. 

Jinsoul kept going. The bird had slowed. She wondered if the owl was tiring. 

She cast the freezing charm again. This time she hit her. She started falling through the air. 

“ _Wingardium leviosa_.” 

Jinsoul was able to catch the bird before she hit the wall of the Great Hall. She really hoped she hadn’t scared the owl too much. 

But nearly slamming into a stone wall, while not being able to fly—it might’ve not been the best thing for her. 

______

The owl hadn’t stopped screeching. She kept hitting her wings against the bars of the cage, or slamming her entire body into it. Many times, Jinsoul thought she was going to break something, and that it wasn't going to be the cage. 

“You’re going to hurt yourself!” She pulled out her scarf and wand. She made the scarf line the inside of the bars. “Please don’t destroy that.” 

The response was another squawk that nearly broke her eardrums. Then a sharp clash against the cage. 

“Stop!” Jinsoul whined. “I don’t want to freeze you again, but I will if you keep doing that.” She waved her wand in front of the cage. She’d flown to the Owlery to find a spare cage and, narrowly evading Chaewon and Hyejoo, she’d made it to the top of the Astronomy tower and back into the school. Now, she just had a _very_ annoyed bird. 

The owl eyed it, her red eyes narrowing slightly. She lifted her wing slowly and sharply hit her scarf. It was very deliberate, not panicked at all. 

And the look she was giving her was _very_ familiar. Almost as if she was challenging her.

Jinsoul brushed it off and climbed the staircase. At the end of it, she finally saw the eagle knocker. She sighed in relief. 

“This is the product of two that unite to cut the light,” the eagle spoke the riddle slowly. 

She smiled. “An eclipse.”

The passage opened. 

Jinsoul went in, the owl in tow. She’d stopped making all the noise, but she kept tapping her foot on the metal base, the rhythm grating on her ears. It almost sounded like a beat, but she tuned it out. 

She passed Hyunjin and Heejin on one of the sofas. They looked at her, eyes wide.

“Don’t ask!” Jinsoul told them. “I’ve got this under control.” 

“Really?” Hyunjin raised a brow. “What about—“

“Don’t start,” Jinsoul warned. 

“I’ll never forget the baby shark,” Heejin shook her head, “you were sure you could tame it. 

“He!” she corrected. “One has a clasper, the other doesn’t.” 

“I don’t even know what that is!” Heejin tossed a crisp at her. It flew into the cage. The owl ate it. 

Jinsoul sighed. She'd probably told them the differences between that ten times. It still hadn’t settled in. 

“When did you have a shark?” Hyunjin looked bewildered. 

“Last year.” Heejin leaned against her side, closing her eyes. “Thought it was a good idea to put a tank over there.” She pointed to the window on the northern part of the tower. 

“And what happened to it?” Hyunjin asked. “They live longer than that.”

“Haseul and her convinced me to set him free.” Jinsoul aimed a pointed look at Heejin. 

“Into the lake?” 

“No,” Jinsoul frowned, “that would’ve killed him.” She shook her head. “I organised a transport to an aquarium. A good one.” Bob had also lived too long in a domestic setting, so the sea hadn’t been an option. 

“And now,” Hyunjin nodded at the owl, “what’s with that?”

“I need to see who her owner is. Until then, she’ll be in the dorm. She’s really skittish.”

The owl began to screech again. 

Both girls covered their ears, while other students whipped around to see what had disturbed the peace of the common room. 

“ _Silencio_ ,” Jinsoul muttered, wishing she didn’t have to cast a spell like that. She already regretted freezing the owl. 

She started bouncing around the cage even more, but she didn’t make a sound. Jinsoul caught her eye and swore it was glaring at her. She was one of the most expressive owls Jinsoul had ever seen. 

“If that thing spends the night, I’m tossing it out the window.” Heejin stared at it. “Even screech owls don’t sound like that.” 

The owl stilled. It looked offended. It’d _heard_ what Heejin had said. It’d also heard what Jinsoul had told it earlier. How much had it understood?

She found herself growing a bit uneasy. What kind of owl could do those things? 

“It’ll be fine,” Jinsoul said. “I’ll figure this out.”

The owl looked up at her. She swore she was raising an eyebrow at her, as if even an _owl_ didn’t think she knew what she was doing. 

“Good luck,” Heejin peeked at her from one eye, “if we hear you screaming, we’ll come help.”

Hyunjin looked as if she was going to say the opposite, but when Heejin laced their fingers together, she nodded. “We’ll try.”

Jinsoul rolled her eyes. “Thank you.” She went straight for the dorms next, the silenced owl in tow. She’d given up on trying to break out of the cage. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Everyone’s a little nervous about me having animals around. It’s why I’m unofficially banned from having one.” It’d taken six years for people to actually bar her in the first place, but they’d always managed to make her either restrain her creatures better, or just send them back. Sometimes she’d been able to have them in the Forbidden Forest, at least a safe part of it. 

The owl blinked back at her. Then she cocked her head to the right. 

Jinsoul lifted the cage so that she could look at the owl’s feet. “They didn’t even put a tag on you.”

Something hit her head. 

She pulled back just in time to see the owl’s wing slipping back through the bars. 

“Did you just slap me?” Jinsoul stared at her. 

The owl smacked the bars again, one of her feet stomping on the floor of the cage. 

“She’s got a temper too,” Jinsoul muttered, pushing the door to open. She set the cage on the ground, before kneeling in front of it. “You hit me again and we’ll have a problem.”

The owl held her gaze. The strange red eyes were still irritated. 

She took the time to actually look at the owl. The red sheen was scattered across the edges of her feathers, as well as dried blood on the left side of her chest. Was that still from her launching herself through the window? Her tail was also partially burnt. Had someone really sent _fire_ after her? Jinsoul nearly saw red. 

And then she saw the talons properly. They were a pale blue. Were they painted? 

“Who the hell would do that?” Jinsoul inched closer to the cage, but made sure that the owl wasn’t reaching out to hit her again. “And _why_?” 

The owl walked a bit forward and butted her head against the bars. Then she started tapping her beak on the door. Did she want to be let out? 

And since when did owls ask for things like that? And hit humans?

“Are you gonna attack me again?” Jinsoul asked. 

The owl shook her head. 

“Do you actually understand me?” She leaned away. 

A nod, a quirk of her head. It looked awkward, but it was a nod. It had to be. 

“Oh wow.” Jinsoul sat down on the floor. “You’re either really smart, or,” she frowned at the cage, “I don’t know.”

The owl leaned its head on the door, eyes closed. Jinsoul swore she heard it sigh. 

“Fine!” She reached out for the cage. “But you can’t break the windows here. You’ll actually break your neck. And if you attack me, I’m putting you back.” 

The bird settled back. She opened her beak. 

Jinsoul remembered she’d silenced her. She cast the counter charm. 

There was a low hoot. 

She opened the cage, bracing herself for the worst. 

The owl just hopped out, flapping her wings once. Feathers fell away and the owl looked more dishevelled than she had before. Probably from the way she’d been going mad in the cage. 

Then the owl flew over to her bag and began poking her head inside. 

“What’re you doing?” Jinsoul didn’t touch her, knowing that would be a _very_ bad decision. 

No response. 

Jinsoul nearly smacked her own head. Why was she expecting a bird to reply to her? 

The owl pulled her head out. There was a quill in her beak. She flew up to one of the beds, looking around. Then she flew to one of the desks, her foot dragging over one of the papers, tearing it in two pieces. 

“That’s not even mine!” Jinsoul scrambled to her feet. She pulled the paper away. “ _Reparo._ ” The tear sealed. 

The owl took it from her hands, dropped it on the table, before taking the quill in her mouth again. She looked at Jinsoul expectantly. 

“You’re not gonna write something now, are you?” Jinsoul asked. 

A muffled hoot. She tapped the quill to the table, before jumping on its spot. She looked at Jinsoul, annoyed. Again. 

Jinsoul wondered if she needed to go to the Hospital Wing herself. Maybe this was the stress. Or there was some sort of mutation in the owls. Were they evolving now? 

She opened the ink bottle. “Don’t you dare spill it.”

She watched as the owl dipped the quill into the pot. It was surprisingly careful. 

Then she went over to the paper and started moving the quill across it, a light scratching 

No. She was actually writing something. In Korean. 

_Jungeun._

Jinsoul nearly lost it. “You’re another prank?” She tried to keep herself from shouting. Jungeun had put the owl in danger. _Actual_ mortal danger. She wasn’t sure what she’d do when she found her, but she had several ideas. “That’s why she hasn’t been here, isn’t it?” 

The owl was shaking her head. 

“What did she do to your? Did she train you this whole time? Or do you have some sort of weird enchantment on you?” Jinsoul kneeled down to look at her more closely. “Or were you in those boxes?” She hadn’t heard anything, but what if the owl had been asleep then? “I’ll kill her.” 

A sharp hoot. Then another slap to Jinsoul's head. 

She jerked back. “I’m not the one who left you stranded in Hogwarts! Several people wanted to kill you. You almost got turned into a literal fireball!” 

The owl dipped the quill into the ink again, spilling some this time. 

_Jungeun = owl._

Jinsoul stared at the words.

The next words were in English. 

_I’m Jungeun._

The owl kept writing. 

_U = idiot._

Either Jungeun had somehow taught the bird to write, or those words were true. 

_Anigus. Stuck._

“Anigus?” Jinsoul muttered. “That’s not a thing.” 

The quill dropped onto the table, splattering the other words in ink. The owl screeched and flew at her. 

Jinsoul ducked just in time. 

Jungeun didn’t have the patience to train an owl. Especially an owl that acted like _this_. 

“You’re an owl.” 

The owl squawked and jumped up and down on the bed. It was Heejin’s bed. She flew back onto the table, took the quill back into her mouth, some ink dripping onto her feathers. Then she drew a large checkmark. 

“An owl?” Jinsoul repeated. “You’re an animagus?” It was a specific magic that took time to learn, but once mastered, you could turn into an animal at will. The animal was what was most similar to you, not the animal you liked most. And Jungeun was an owl. Jinsoul had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Jungeun wasn’t wise enough for that. 

Another check. The owl’s wings flapped as it basically hopped from side to side. She was celebrating. 

Jinsoul recognised the victory dance. It was usually joined with an infuriatingly smug smile. 

“Oh wow.” Jinsoul stared at her. It made so much sense. Even going to the library, stealing a book on self-transfiguration, and how odd the owl had been acting. “Wow.”

Making sure she was a good distance away, Jinsoul sat down on the floor. Then she laughed. 

The squawk she got in response just made her laugh harder. 

“You’re stuck,” Jinsoul chuckled, “and you’re an _owl_?” She risked looking over, only to see two red eyes staring back at her. Even with a beak instead of a mouth, she knew the owl was scowling at her. 

The. Owl. Was. Jungeun. 

She laughed again. Her stomach was starting to cramp up. 

Jungeun hooted once, her foot scratching at the table. Twice. 

Jinsoul knew exactly what that meant and smiled. “You’re so much better like this.” She brushed away a tear. 

There was a flutter of wings. 

Jinsoul dodged the angry bird. She was probably going to be doing that pretty often. 

“I get one scratch and I’m putting you in the Owlery.” She couldn’t help but grin at the owl—Jungeun. 

She swore Jungeun raised a non-existent brow. Her owl head tilted up to the ceiling. 

Jinsoul frowned. Then she realised what that meant.

“Right, there’s no roof.” Jinsoul chuckled. “I’ll put you a nice cage instead. Again.”

She dove behind her bed next, avoiding another attack. Jungeun flew onto Sooyoung’s bed. 

“You do anything, she’ll—”

Jungeun’s foot dug into the covers, tearing them in one kick. Or was it a stomp?

“I hate you.” Jinsoul threw a book at her. 

Jungeun just hooted in response. She looked smug. 

She had no idea if she was reading into an _owl’s_ expression too much, or if an animagus was just able to emote _really_ well. 

“Okay,” Jinsoul sat down on her bed, “have you shifted before? And turned back?`”

Her head tilted up at the ceiling, cocking to the side. It was different to the movement from before. 

“Is that a nod?”

The sharp hoot made her think yes. Jungeun was probably tired of using the quill. Or she just didn’t want more ink on her. 

“How long have you been one?” 

Two taps. 

“Two years?” Jinsoul couldn’t believe it. “How?” 

The owl just looked at her. 

She could almost hear Jungeun’s response. 

_I can’t talk, you idiot_. 

“Well we at least know it’s possible for you to get back,” Jinsoul looked flipped through her notebook, “some people get trapped the first time they transform. They’re sent to St. Mungo’s.”

There was a flutter of wings. 

Jinsoul flinched, but Jungeun just settled down beside her. Her head tilted slightly as she looked over the book, then it straightened again. 

It was such an oddly familiar sight. She’d seen Jungeun do that same thing in class. Had that started after she’d become an animals?

“I’ll need to read into this some more. There’s potions for that. Probably a spell too, but I don’t know what they are.”

Jungeun hooted once. 

“Meaning I’m going to the library now.” Jinsoul put her things into her bag. She got up and picked the book she’d thrown at Jungeun up. “Where’re you gonna be later?” 

Jungeun hopped off the bed. Then she flopped onto her stomach, two feathers falling off. Then she rolled right under Jinsoul’s bed. 

“Are you serious?” 

Another hoot. 

“Can’t you just,” Jinsoul looked outside, just to see that the sky was greying, “never mind. If you’re jinxed by someone who comes in, that’s not my fault.”

A low hoot then. 

Jinsoul knelt down and peered at the owl. 

Her eyes were closed, beak resting on the wooden floor. 

Jinsoul fought a smile. She also resisted the urge to pet her, knowing that’d get her the same scratch marks Hyejoo had, but all over her face. 

______

She found Sooyoung settled beside Jiwoo in the library. She was dozing, head resting on Jiwoo's shoulder. 

“Hey!” Jiwoo whisper-shouted. She was already smiling. 

Jinsoul smiled, but she couldn’t help but wonder where she was supposed to go. Restricted section? Transfiguration? Or maybe even potions. 

“Why do you have feathers on you?” Sooyoung frowned at her. “Please tell me you showered before coming here.” She lifted her hand to her nose. 

Jinsoul scowled at her. “They’re just feathers.” _From one of_ your _friends._ She plucked one from her robes. It still had that red sheen. To say it was weird was an understatement. 

And what would happen if she put it in a Polyjuice Potion? Would she grow feathers and be some sort of weird hybrid of Jungeun and an owl?

“Oh right,” Jiwoo’s eyes widened, “you were a part of that whole thing, weren’t you?”

Sooyoung squinted at her. “People were saying you'd been some sort of hero. _Cool_ ," she looked like she was holding back a laugh, “but it's just because you're an animal activist. Even for psycho birds.”

Jinsoul gave her a look, but didn’t say anything. 

“If you’re looking for Yerim, she went to see if Chae and Hyejoo were up for Exploding Snap.” Jiwoo was working on an essay. Ancient Runes by the looks of it. 

“They’re in a bad mood,” Jinsoul muttered, glancing at Sooyoung’s half-finished essay. 

“Don’t even say it,” Sooyoung warned. “It’s only due next week.” 

“And Charms is due tomorrow.” Jiwoo elbowed her lightly. "You still have three paragraphs.” 

The Ravenclaw in question sighed, but she still looked pretty pleased with herself. 

Jinsoul was torn between gagging and applauding them. They weren't even dating, but they were already sickly sweet. 

"What’re you actually looking for?” Jiwoo asked. “I haven’t seen the owl, by the way.”

“I found her,” Jinsoul replied. Then she realised she probably wasn’t supposed to say that. “I mean, she’s in the Owlery now. No owner yet.” Oh how she knew Jungeun would _kill_ her if she even brought up the prospect of her being a pet. 

“From what Chae told me, it’s a menace,” Sooyoung laughed, “you should’ve put it in a cage, because I know it’s flying around somewhere out there.” She shuddered. “And if I see that on the pitch tomorrow, we’ll have a problem.” 

“I think it’s just scared,” Jiwoo said. She put her quill down, looking very content. “Throwing a snake at it probably wasn’t the best idea.” She seemed to realise the ridiculousness of that statement, because she laughed. 

Sooyoung was staring at her essay, half in awe, half in disbelief. “Don’t some owls eat snakes?”

“Some,” Jinsoul said, turning away from the table. She needed to get to work. “She doesn’t.” 

“She?” Sooyoung stared at her. “You can tell the difference?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “But I’m not about to give you a lecture on owl physiology. Start working.”

She got a scowl in response. 

“Did you see Jungeun yet?” Jiwoo asked before she could finally go. “I still haven’t seen her. She said she was gonna catch up on sleep, but I didn’t think it’d be this long.” She looked around the library then, as if she’d missed her somehow. “The other two haven’t seen her either."

"Yerim too," Sooyoung added. 

Sleep? Was that how it’d happened? She’d been tired? Jinsoul had read a few things about what could go wrong with animagi. None of it was pleasant.

Jinsoul almost told her a random excuse, but then she realised that’d lead to more than a few awkward conversations when Jungeun was back. As far as she knew, Jungeun acted very differently with her friends. And they liked her for a reason. 

“Haven’t yet,” Jinsoul said. “But she might be working on Transfiguration.” That wasn’t a complete lie. 

Jiwoo frowned. “She always gets that done first.”

 _Damn_. “It’s a separate project!” Then she backed away. “And I haven’t chosen my topic yet.” She left before they could keep asking her. 

She knew exactly that she’d just made things even more confusing, but she had no idea what else she was supposed to say. 

She retreated into the shelves and started her search, hoping desperately that she'd figure something out. 

Every now and then, she thought of the bird currently sleeping under her bed and had to stop herself from laughing again. An owl. One that she'd chased across the entire school. 

And that owl was Jungeun. 


	2. I'm an idiot

It took Jinsoul three hours to find what she needed. Most of what she found were either about the first transformations, what happened to an animagus when they were bitten by a werewolf, and how some animagi ended up getting so comfortable in their animal form that they spent half their time as it. 

Jinsoul had nearly started laughing in the middle of the library just imagining Jungeun hopping around the halls as an owl. 

As much as it’d been a hassle, and maybe even a hazard for some, Jungeun being an actual owl might’ve been the highlight of her year so far. 

Scouring through books was much lower on that list. 

The first book that’d mentioned something remotely interesting had discussed a few reasons why someone would get stuck. Some of them were being struck by the Confundus charm, stress, intoxication, a nightmare or a particularly lucid dream, or a mind-altering curses having lingering effects. 

Jinsoul wasn’t sure if Jungeun had had a particularly fun night on a Thursday, with the other curses seeming to be a lot less likely. Jungeun seemed pretty normal too, just as short-tempered, and eager to cause some kind of mess. She’d been nervous about something yesterday, but had it really been that bad? 

She’d been an animagus for two years and Jinsoul was sure it couldn’t be a lack of skill. What else could it be? 

Finally, Jinsoul had given up on the books from the Transfiguration section and gone straight to the Restricted Section. 

Interestingly enough, she’d found her answer in a book about warding off magical creatures. 

_In the event that a normal animal tries to harm the witch/wizard in spite of any spells cast its way, it may either be bewitched or be an animagus, though this is very rare. If the creature is bewitched,_ rennervate _may work. If the creature is an animagus, the following reversal spell must be cast. It is of the utmost importance to do it correctly, for the spell will have no effect on a normal wizard, muggle, and animal, but it may put the animagus into a state in between their two forms. Half of the recorded cases (the total of which is six) took several years to revert to human form. Some were stuck in an intermediate form for up to seven years. The transformation back was especially painful. One was never able to turn back._

Jinsoul was staring at the spell in question. It was a short description of the stance, position and motion of the wand, as well as the incantation itself. So simple. 

And yet there was a chance she could be the reason why Jungeun didn’t turn back into a human. 

She couldn’t go to any of the professors, because Jungeun wasn’t a registered animagi. Unless Jungeun just gave in and let her do it, she wouldn’t be exposing her. 

And she wasn’t sure if the others were supposed to be involved. Most of them hated Transfiguration too, with Yeojin being the best at it, but she was still far from this level of a spell. 

Jinsoul groaned, nearly throwing the book across the room. She only held back, because she needed to be in the Restriction Section for most of the year to finish her essays. She was also sure there was some sort of jinx on the books that would either fry her eyebrows away, make her blind for a day, or change her voice to something embarrassing. 

She wrote down everything relevant on that page, her eyes burning from reading. She couldn’t cast this spell in her state. If she was really going to be the one to do it, she needed to be awake and focused on it. 

And Jungeun would just have to stomach being an owl for one more night. 

Jinsoul almost didn’t mind that. While there was the risk of being clawed to death, Jungeun couldn’t talk. She also looked a lot less intimidating as a feathery bird than she did in green robes and blonde hair. 

She almost ran out of the library, rubbing her eyes, when she saw Hyejoo and Chaewon coming from the Hospital Wing. 

“Did they get infected?” Jinsoul nodded at Hyejoo. 

She grimaced and nodded. “Apparently I was supposed to get a,” she glanced at Chaewon, “what was that? Vizzine?”

“Vaccine,” Chaewon rolled her eyes, “can you believe they don’t get them? Tetanus too! And apparently polio doesn’t even exist here. Even Madame Selen didn’t know what it was until two years ago.” 

Jinsoul wondered if these were the usual conversations the two had, with Hyejoo being a clueless witch born into a magical household, while Chaewon was muggleborn. It made them a lot less intimidating if that was the case. “I don’t think wizards really contract that kind of thing. And even if they did, there’s potions and spells for that.” 

“Anyway,” the shorter Slytherin crossed her arms, “I’m done with this stupid bird.” She aimed a pointed look at the person beside her. 

Hyejoo shrugged. “Me too, I guess.” Then she scowled. “But if I see it, I’m hexing it.”

“Don’t,” Jinsoul said, maybe too hurriedly. “I’m serious. She was just scared.” She hadn’t even seen the first part, but if there’d been a stunning spell _and_ a snake, she couldn’t blame Jungeun for lashing out. Even if that had almost gotten her killed by the dynamic duo of Slytherin house. 

“How can you even tell if it’s a she or he?” Chaewon frowned. “Is it the feathers or something?” She nodded at Jinsoul’s leg then. There was another feather there too. How was it possible for Jungeun to shed feathers _and_ for them to get on her clothes? 

“Something like that,” Jinsoul replied, “but I need to get back.” She waved once. 

Before she could go, one of them called her back. 

“Did you see Jungeun yet?” Hyejoo asked. “We thought she’d be in the library again.”

Why were they all asking her? Even though it was true, they had no reason to think that otherwise. 

“Nope. Jiwoo said she was taking it easy today, so,” she trailed off, taking a step back. 

Chaewon raised a brow. “Taking it easy would mean she’s on the pitch, but she wasn’t there.”

“I have no idea,” Jinsoul raised her hands, “she’s your friend.” 

Hyejoo gave her a look. “Well according to her, you usually know where to find her after she’s,” she snickered, “you know, given Peeves a new challenge.”

What was that supposed to mean? 

The two Slytherins shared a look. 

“Well when your bird senses start tingling, let us know. I need to rub it in her face that she missed this.” Hyejoo looked smug. 

Jinsoul almost wished she could tell her that Jungeun hadn’t missed it at all. She probably would’ve wanted to miss it completely. 

“Will do.” She waved before going upstairs. 

As she walked, she frowned at something else they’d said. 

_Bird senses?_

______ 

The dormitory was thankfully _not_ destroyed when she got back. And there wasn’t a dead owl anywhere either. 

Jinsoul saw her flipping through a book. She was using her wing to flip the pages. 

It was the weirdest thing. Jinsoul had only rarely seen Jungeun bent over a book, or be quiet like this unless it was during an exam, or she was using said book as a pillow. 

She’d also never seen an owl read a book. She’d seen a bowtruckle do it, but once it’d realised that paper was actually wood, it’d tried to tear the book apart. 

“Hey,” Jinsoul whispered.

The owl—Jungeun—started, its wings fluttering. Then she hooted. 

“I’ve got the spell,” she said. 

Another hoot. Excited. Jungeun flew over to her feet. 

Jinsoul grimaced. “But I’m exhausted and I don’t think I could cast it without a big chance of it going really badly.” 

Jungeun looked up at her. Jinsoul wasn’t sure if she was going to freak or not. 

She hooted once. Then she waddled away, before flying a short distance until she got to the desk. Her feet tapped the papers on top of it. 

Jinsoul walked over. There were two messages, written in that surprisingly legible bird-scrawl. 

_Sorry for attacking u._

_If youre 2 tired wait a day._

“Your handwriting’s better as a bird.” 

A whack to her arm. 

“Be nice,” Jinsoul tickled her, laughing when Jungeun jumped away, “or you’ll be waiting longer than a day.”

Jungeun responded by ramming her head into Jinsoul’s side. It felt like a weak punch. 

She smiled down at the owl. 

Then her stomach growled. She realised then that Jungeun probably hadn’t eaten much for most of the day. 

“Oh,” she grimaced, “I’m an idiot.”

Jungeun hooted once, as if in agreement. 

“Not like that!” She glared at her. “I—are you hungry?”

The owl stared at her. Another hoot. 

“I have,” Jinsoul looked through her things, “chocolate. But owls can't have that.” She went for her bag next. 

Jungeun was then beside her again. In her mouth was a paper. She dropped it on the floor and her foot went to one of the things she’d written earlier. 

_Jungeun = owl_

“Chocolate isn’t dinner,” Jinsoul replied. “And I think you’d end up choking on noodles.”

Jungeun tapped the chocolate frog packet with her beak, before looking up at her expectantly. 

“Your body’s a lot smaller than it usually is.” Jinsoul put it back in her bag. “You’ll get a sugar high, or maybe a heart attack.” 

She made an oddly low sound. Was that supposed to be her grumbling? 

“I could be saving your life right now!” Jinsoul gave her a look. Then she saw the cage. What was she going to do with that now? If she put Jungeun back in there, the Slytherin would probably hold a grudge against her for the rest of their time and Hogwarts, maybe even beyond. It also wouldn’t sit well with her at all. 

She needed a place for Jungeun to go now. Then she’d get food from the kitchens. Heejin and Sooyoung wouldn’t be happy at _all_ if she let Jungeun stay in the dorms. Few people would, when she thought about it. 

But where else could Jungeun go? It was raining now, so she wasn’t going to send her outside. The library was an option, unless Madame Kang had installed some sort of trap for owls. What about the Room of Requirement? Unless that’d be a genuine chaos? And did the windows even work? What if someone else changed the room? Could that be possible? 

With a start, she remembered the boxes. 

“You’re sure you weren’t planning a prank yesterday?” Jinsoul asked. She picked up the cage. She’d have to bring that back tomorrow. No one would need it until the holidays, but still. 

Jungeun looked at her. The hoot she gave sounded confused. Then she nodded. 

“Can you show me where the room is?” she knelt down in front of her, “that’s where you can sleep tonight.” 

Her head tilted to the side. She blinked twice. 

“The forest you made,” Jinsoul said. “Unless this’s an actual swamp and you hid alligators in there.”

Jungeun shook her head again. She started flying around the room. Then she landed on Jinsoul’s shoulder, her claws digging in softly. 

“So the long nails are from you being a bird?” Jinsoul peered up at her. “Or did you just do that on purpose?”

A hoot. She didn’t know if that was a yes or a no. 

“Let’s go.” Jinsoul walked to the door. “You attack anyone—that includes Hyejoo, by the way, then you’re getting the cage.” She walked out. 

A few people were in the common room. They all said hi, some looking at the bird with varying degrees of worry. They probably thought Jungeun was a new pet of hers. 

Jinsoul smiled at the thought. 

It was easy going up the stairs. She didn’t see anyone who might’ve been attacked by Jungeun, or others who’d start asking questions. Every now and then Jungeun’s wing lightly brushed her face. It almost felt like she was tempted to whack her. 

They reached the seventh floor. 

“Now show me where we’re going.” 

Jungeun flew off her shoulder, rounding the corner. 

Jinsoul broke into a run after her. She wondered what flying like that was like, where you didn’t need a broom. 

She didn’t see her. 

“Jungeun?” she called. 

Towards her left, she heard her hoot. 

She followed, walking past the wall for the Room of Requirement. 

Jungeun was perched on a windowsill. In front of her was a door, the base of which had a shimmer of green below it. Otherwise, it looked completely normal. 

That explained why no one had been talking about it. 

Jinsoul braced herself, hoping that Jungeun hadn’t forgotten about some trap she’d set (because that had also happened before). 

Then she opened the door. 

A gentle breeze greeted her, as well as the scent of flowers. 

Jinsoul gasped when she saw what was on the other side. 

She almost couldn’t tell it was a classroom, save for gaps revealing the stone walls, and ceiling. The windows to the side were a giveaway too. Except for that, all she saw was green and a myriad of other bright colours. 

The trees rose towards the ceiling, ending in a canopy of leaves. She didn’t know if they grew until then, or just melted into the stone. 

There was a bed of moss where the floor should’ve been. It sank ever so slightly when she stepped onto it. 

The trees weren’t oppressive, but spaced out, leaving enough space that she could almost imagine setting up a campfire there. 

Around the edges of the room were flowers. Roses, jasmines, and even more all spaced around. Their scents weren’t overpowering, but had mixed into something comforting. 

Then she saw the pond in the far corner. Water trickled into it from what almost looked like a stream. 

She went closer to it, enjoying how the ground felt below her feet. The Forbidden Forest didn’t have moss like this unless you walked far enough. Jinsoul had done that once, but it hadn’t been worth it when she’d found the massive spider’s nest. She liked magical creatures. She’d had a tarantula before too, but the man-eating spiders had been a lot for her. Especially when the sun had started setting and she’d realised they’d wanted to actually eat her. 

Fish were in the pond. Koi and sturgeon. 

“Were these in those boxes too?” Jinsoul asked. 

A small hoot was the response. Again, she didn’t know if that was a yes or now. She'd been able to tell before. 

She looked to where it’d come from, only to see Jungeun perched on one of the rocks. She was looking up at her. Jinsoul couldn’t read that look. 

And she probably wasn’t supposed to. Because Jungeun was still an owl. 

Jinsoul spotted something else then. Something that didn’t fit. Black robes. Were those Jungeun’s?

She stood and went over. Right beside it was Jungeun’s bag. 

That meant Jungeun had turned into an owl here. 

Right. Chaewon and Hyejoo had said they’d opened the door and the owl had flown out. 

Had they known about this room? They must have. 

Jungeun flew over. She landed on the bag. 

“I’ll get you something to eat,” Jinsoul told her. She got to her feet. 

Jungeun shook her head. 

“You probably haven’t eaten since you turned,” she looked around, “and you didn’t put any fruit trees.” She glanced at the pond. “You didn’t eat any of them, right?”

Jungeun squawked. Then she gave her a sharp look as she shook her head. 

Jinsoul smiled. “Okay, so you’re hungry.” She went to the door, still surprised at how it’d all been transformed. How had _boxes_ held this much in them? How had Jungeun even managed to make something like this? “See you soon.” 

She gave her a tiny hoot. 

Jinsoul had to force down a laugh. She was fully convinced that Jungeun was the owl, but that didn’t make any of this any less surreal. 

_____

She barely made it out of the kitchens and into the Entrance Hall when she saw several people gathered there. 

“Have you seen her?” Jiwoo asked when she saw Jinsoul. She looked close to tears. “When I tell you I’ve looked _everywhere_ , I mean it.” 

“She’s not in the dorms either,” Haseul added. She looked equally as worried. “Do you think she went into the Forest?” She raised a brow. “I know she’d do that if she wanted to.”

Jinsoul realised then she had no idea if any of them knew Jungeun was an animagus. If any one of them had known, they would’ve been the voice of reason here. 

“Really?” Jiwoo squeaked. “But why would—” Her eyes went back to Jinsoul. Then they widened. “Oh no.”

Jinsoul looked to Yerim, hoping she’d be able to have a read on her fellow Hufflepuff. 

But she wasn’t smiling or trying to even make light of anything. 

“She wouldn’t have done that today,” Sooyoung said then. “She still hasn’t—” She glanced at Jinsoul. “Um,” she trailed off. 

“She still hasn’t what?” Jinsoul asked. Apart from the bird, more than a few of them had been acting weird. “What wouldn’t she have been doing today?”

They all exchanged a look. Jinsoul could see people walking past, giving them all questioning looks. Some tried for awkward smiles, before quickly going into the Great Hall. They’d probably be wondering if they were fighting. 

“It depends,” Hyjoo muttered. “Did you see her?”

“Tell me what’s happening first.” Jinsoul knew how easy it would be to just tell them what’d _actually_ happened, but Jungeun had kept this secret for two years. 

Couldn’t she have just written her a note that said, _you can tell them I’m the owl_. 

Jiwoo was having a stare down with Yerim now, shaking her head while the latter was nodding. 

“Please tell me you’re not a part of this.” Jinsoul turned to the others. 

Yeojin, Heejin, and Hyunjin all shrugged. 

Vivi and the two devils of Slytherin were very quiet. Yerim too. 

“Spill.” Jinsoul went over to them. 

“Or what?” Chaewon raised a brow. 

She nearly told them in that moment. Either that or she’d have threatened them with the owl making a comeback. 

“I’ll say it,” Sooyoung groaned, “Jungeun set something up for you. She was gonna show it to you today, but clearly you haven’t even seen her.” She rolled her eyes. “So either something’s happened or she chickened out.”

 _Owled out_ , Jinsoul corrected. “Set what up for me?” As soon as she said the words, she knew the answer. “The forest?” _Oops_. 

“Wait,” Jiwoo straightened, “you saw it?” 

_U = idiot_. 

“Maybe,” Jinsoul muttered. “But she didn’t show it to me.” And that was an actual lie. She knew they’d see through it. “Wait.” She looked between them, their words actually setting in. 

_I’m an idiot._

“She really didn’t find you?” Hyejoo asked. “Because you seem really calm right now.” 

“I’m not,” Jinsoul admitted. “Just really confused.” And it wasn’t because Jungeun was an owl. She’d gotten over that. 

“Well same here!” Jiwoo put her head in her hands. “The surprise’s ruined, some of you almost got killed by an owl, and she’s not here for any of it.” She looked genuinely distraught. 

She knew then and there that she needed to fix this. 

“Can you guys come upstairs in maybe ten minutes?” 

By the looks they were giving her, she probably sounded insane. 

“Trust me,” Jinsoul told them. “Just wait.” Then she ran up the stairs before they could stop her. 

Her foot sank into the trick step. She narrowly avoided smashing her head into the floor. Dizzy, she managed to get up the next set of stairs. 

As she waited for the next flight to move her way, she tried to think of what she’d even say next. And what happened if she didn’t cast the spell right? Just because she was rushed? 

Or would Jungeun just stop her from doing that? 

And then the rest would come up and see Jungeun as an _owl_. 

“Oh my god,” Jinsoul muttered, rushing up the stairs. Her legs were already burning. “Please let this work.” 

She was at the sixth floor now, wishing she’d actually done more sport instead of just flying around on a broom. 

When she got to the forest room, she was gasping for air. She fell onto the mossy floor, sighing in relief when she could rest her head on something soft. She nearly fell asleep. 

A hoot broke her out of her stupor. Then a light brush of a wing on her head. It was actually comforting. 

“Hey,” she muttered. “Food’s in my bag. And your friends are gonna be here in less than fifteen minutes.”

Jungeun tapped Jinsoul's head with her wing again. Twice. Three times. 

She looked up to see Jungeun looking at her with very confused red eyes. 

“I didn’t mean to!” Jinsoul pushed herself up. “They told me you set this up for me, I let it slip that I’d seen this room, but I didn’t know that,” she caught her breath, “and we have two choices now.” She pulled out her wand. “Either I turn you back now, and hopefully the spell works, or they’re gonna see you as this and I’ll have to tell them you’re the owl, or else one of them might actually hex you.”

Jungeun stared at her. 

“Come on,” Jinsoul leaned back, wondering if she was going to throw up or not, “you can hit me and that’s a no, or hoot and that’s a yes.” 

She was still looking at her. Jinsoul wondered if she was going to keel over. Had she even heard her? Had Jinsoul even said those words properly?

“Please Jungeun, either you’re eating as a human or a bird. You don’t answer, that food’s going in the water.”

Jungeun hooted. _Yes._

Jinsoul gaped at her. “I’ve never cast this spell in my life.” 

Another hoot. 

“Jungeun, you might be stuck with one arm and a wing for a while. They said it’s painful.”

Jungeun squawked and flew around for a few seconds. When she landed, she glared at Jinsoul and gave a very pointed hoot.

“Okay okay!” Jinsoul took a deep breath, before looking in her bag for what she’d written down about the spell. 

Jungeun turned away to her bag. She picked something up, a rustling sound coming. She turned back and it was another paper. 

Jinsoul took it when she came closer. 

_Cst spell._

_U wont suck._

_I hope._

“Helpful.” Jinsoul wondered how long it’d taken her to think of that. And how long it’d taken her to make up her mind about this. 

She lifted her wand and pointed it at the owl—Jungeun. 

The owl looked back at her, winked with an odd red eye, and closed her eyes. 

Jinsoul grit her teeth. How was it so easy for Jungeun to trust her for this? 

How could Jungeun even _trust_ her? 

“If this goes wrong, I’m so sorry.”

Jinsoul looked at the spell once, before breathing in and out. Very slowly. 

She tried to focus on the fact that Jungeun didn’t look nervous at all, despite those standards being set to a bird. She imagined Jungeun standing in front of her, eyes closed, blonde hair, and _fully_ human. 

She followed the steps and the stance, before casting the spell, watching as blue light left her wand and wrapped around Jungeun. 

Her heart clenched as she watched it sink into Jungeun’s feathers. 

And then Jungeun let out a sound that sounded too much like a shriek. Her eyes opened. 

The door flew open in the next moment. Jiwoo barged in, with nine other people following. 

“Get back!” Jinsoul shouted. 

Jungeun was spasming, no sound coming out of her now. 

“What is that?” Sooyoung’s words got no response. 

Jinsoul watched the feathers melted into skin and clothes, before the head grew. The eyes turned brown again and the feathers on her head became blonde. The wings grew into arms. The talons into toes before legs shot out of the little body. It looked disgusting. 

And then Jungeun was hunched over on the ground. She cried out, swatting at her arms. She looked up, eyes wide, tears streaming out. She was human. 

“I’m back,” she croaked out. She looked at Jinsoul. Then she looked to the others. “Hi?”

Jinsoul tackled her into a hug in the next moment. She smelled vaguely like the Owlery, but otherwise of roses and jasmine again. 

Meanwhile, the stunned silence broke into chaos. 

“YOU WERE THE BIRD?” Hyejoo bellowed. 

At the same time, Jiwoo screamed, “YOU TOLD ME YOU HATE OWLS!”

“Calm down!” Vivi shouted. “She’s been a bird since this morning.” 

“Did you know?” Chaewon’s voice was surprisingly loud as well. 

“‘Course she didn’t,” Hyunjin shot back, “Jungeun was missing since this morning.” 

Jungeun patted her back. “You did it.” She laughed, a sound Jinsoul realised she’d missed. 

“You’re sure?” Jinsoul pulled away, looking at her, holding back a gasp. 

Her left eye was bruised, now swelling, while there was another one on her forehead. The base of her neck had a thin cut on it. 

“I’m sure,” Jungeun grinned, but winced, “I can talk, I can move my neck right, and I have actual joints in my legs.” She wiggled them. 

“You look like shit.” It was Sooyoung. 

Jungeun cackled. “I feel like it too.”

“You’re telling us everything,” Jiwoo was on Jungeun’s other side, looking both angry and relieved, “because I thought you’d been kidnapped.”

She snorted. “Please, I’d be stuck in the Forest before that happened.” She tossed some blonde hair over her shoulder. Said blonde hair had dried blood in it, just like her feathers had. 

“Explain first,” Haseul said. She waved her wand. Plates of steaming food appeared on the forest—classroom—floor. 

Jinsoul stared at it. “You’re telling me I went all the way downstairs, when I could’ve done this?”

“It would’ve been cold or rotten.” Sooyoung sat down. She grabbed a plate. “I’m surprised you even managed that spell.” She nodded at the person who’d just been an owl. 

“Me too,” Heejin took two plates, “what if it’d gone wrong?” Then she looked at Jungeun. “Did you think she could do it?”

Jungeun nodded. Then she took a plate as well, wincing as she did. Jinsoul wondered if flying was like some sort of intense workout for her. 

“I didn’t,” Jinsoul muttered. She pulled out the food she’d brought up. She wasn’t going to let that go to waste. 

Jungeun saw it and Jinsoul swore her eyes lit up. 

She handed over the sandwich and cup of soup. 

Jungeun grinned. “How was I gonna eat this?” She peered at the sandwich. 

“In little pieces,” Jinsoul replied. 

“So what was the plan?” Chaewon asked. “You’d have dinner and then wait until tomorrow?” Her brow rose. “And then turned her back?” 

She nodded. “After I’d actually slept and was calm.”

“You weren’t calm when we came in,” Hyunjin said, giving her a pointed look. 

“It still worked!” Jinsoul protested. “So can we drop it?” 

“Yes,” Yerim said, a small smile on her face. Then she frowned at Jungeun. “You have a lot of explaining to do.” 

Jungeun smiled sheepishly. “I started learning how to do this at the end of third year.” 

“Why?” Haseul’s brow was furrowed. 

“I thought it was cool.” 

“And you turned into an owl,” Hyejoo said, giving her a pointed look. 

Jungeun started telling them about the long process, the mishaps, and the way she’d had to avoid being discovered as an animagus. Jinsoul knew about the process, especially after her reading session today, but she’d never seen the shift in Jungeun after that. Was that why she’d started being so tired in class? 

“I’ll probably register by the time I leave school, but we’ll see.” 

“And you never told us. Why?” Yerim was holding up a grape, as if she was ready to throw it at her. 

“One, today was a great reason for that. You had no idea and it was hilarious,” Jungeun shrugged, “two, I don’t use it that much.” 

Many of the people there frowned. It didn’t exactly add up. Even Jinsoul could think of some potential things Jungeun could do as an owl, including messing with the mailing process. 

Jungeun blinked. “What?” 

“You are gonna need to make up for all the lost opportunities,” Hyejoo said. “Do that and I’ll forgive you for almost ripping out my throat.” 

“We’re even,” Jungeun threw back. “You sent a snake after me.”

“You attacked first,” Chaewon replied. “Who did you even think we were?” 

Her ears were brightly red. “Sorry,” she muttered, “I was freaking out.” Something shifted then. Jinsoul saw then that Jungeun was a bit more shaken than she let on. The rest probably saw that too, because no one said much more about that. 

Whenever it’d happened, Jungeun had been in this room, alone. She probably might’ve thought she was stuck in that form forever. 

“But it was great being chased across school.” Jungeun’s smile was back. “Now I know I can really outfly all of you.” 

“I’d like to see you try it on a broom.” Hyejoo smirked. “Then you can talk about that.” 

Things went back into casual conversation. There were several jokes made about today, but it became very clear that most of them were exhausted. Jungeun especially, but also the people who’d been worried about her. 

Jiwoo was currently leaning on Sooyoung’s shoulder eyes drooping. 

Yeojin was wondering aloud which animal she’d want to turn into. Yerim, Chaewon and Hyejoo had joined in. It was a semi-argument, but still a debate. 

“You’d be a cat,” Heejin said quietly. “Just like your patronus.” She hugged Hyunjin, smiling softly. 

Jinsoul turned to Jungeun then, to see her sitting back with her eyes closed. The swelling in her eye hadn’t gotten worse, which was at least a good sign. She looked terrible, but Jinsoul had never been happier to see her than she did now. 

She scooted over. “Do you have to go to the Hospital Wing?” 

Jungeun shook her head. “Does it look bad?” 

“You look like you got in a fight,” Jinsoul said. “Several.”

She hummed.

“Have you cast a patronus charm yet?” 

Jungeun opened her eyes. “A patronus?” She looked confused. “We don’t learn that.” 

Jinsoul laughed. “We also don’t learn how to turn into animals.” 

The corner of her lip tugged up. “I’m not the charms type. That’s you.” The smile formed fully. “And you’ve done it already, haven’t you?” 

“It’s one reason why becoming an animagus would not be all that great,” she said. “At least here.” 

Jungeun’s brow rose. 

“Mine’s a betta.” 

She nodded. “If you ever live by a lake, it’d make sense. At least a bit.” She frowned. “Could you even be in salt water?” 

Jinsoul smiled at that. “Probably not.” 

Suddenly she laughed. “Sorry, I was just picturing you going through the halls.” She made a jumpy movement with her hand. It vaguely looked like a flopping fish. “That’d be hilarious.”

“Glad you think so.” Jinsoul gave her a look. “Not everyone gets to be an animal that can fly.”

“We’re in a world where we have broomsticks,” Jungeun said, meeting her eyes, “and I can tell you it’s a little terrifying to fly without a broom. That’s why I stuck with quidditch.” 

“And you’ll still lose next month.” Yerim winked. 

She stuck her tongue out. “You wish.” 

“I think we’re gonna go to the dorms,” Sooyoung said, nudging Jiwoo’s head with her cheek. “It’s been a long day.”

“Same here,” Heejin stood, “but we’re not finished. I still need to know when exactly you were chewing on a mandrake leaf.” She frowned. “For a whole month.”

“And when were you waiting for the storm?” Yerim asked. “Since when’re you patient enough for that?”

Jungeun shrugged. “I thought I’d commit to it.”

Slowly, the others began to go. Sooyoung was partially holding Jiwoo up, who’d resorted to wrapping her arms around her waist, muttering something about what sort of bird Sooyoung probably was. 

Haseul was looking at Jungeun, a thoughtful look in her eyes. Vivi seemed confused, but she stayed where she was. 

“That’s why you don’t sleep,” Haseul said then. “You’re nocturnal.”

Jungeun just nodded.

“Are the traits supposed to work the other way?” She frowned.

“Not sure,” she said. “I just couldn’t sleep well once that happened.” She shrugged. “It works, but I don’t like it.”

“So you thought sleeping during class was a good idea?” Jinsoul asked. 

“Yep.” Jungeun gave her that look with the familiar challenge. “Other people had some great notes.”

“Well,” Haseul hugged her, “you’re still gonna need to start being awake for class. There’s actual important things happening.”

She snickered. “Yes, ma’am.” 

“See you later, Eun,” Haseul pulled away, “and you better be an actual human tomorrow.”

“Promise.” Jungeun grinned back at her.

“Also,” she narrowed her eyes, “if you ever turn into an owl on purpose around me, or Heejin, I’ll find a way to get you detention for a week in Herbology. And I’ll tell Longbottom to make you repot all of the mandrakes and prepare a litre of pus.”

Jungeun stared at her, stunned. “Unless it’s for a good reason, I won’t.”

“Your good reason better be the same as mine.” Haseul hugged her one more time before leaving with Vivi. 

That left Yeojin, Yerim, and the two Slytherins. 

“Look, Hye,” Jungeun went over to her, “I’m sorry I attacked you.” 

Hyejoo shrugged. “Just as long as you let me make owl jokes, we’re good.” She patted her head. “And you tell me how to become one.”

She gaped at her. “I didn’t do _that_ —”

“I’ll cover for you when you need it, get you whatever you want from Hogsmeade, and you can use my switch.”

Chaewon frowned at that. 

Jungeun chuckled. “I won’t be having a lot of time for the switch, but the other two are great.”

Chaewon relaxed. 

“What about you?” Jungeun asked her. “You also want to turn into something?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’ll probably end up as some insect, so no.”

Jungeun just laughed. “Well, I’ll make sure you know which books to read about this stuff. Then I’ll help you with the potion.”

Hyejoo cringed. “Books?”

She nodded, winking at her. “You need to know how it actually works.”

Both looked unconvinced, but Hyejoo nodded. Then she unexpectedly hugged Jungeun. 

“I’m glad I didn’t actually catch you,” she said. “Because you would’ve looked a lot worse if I had.”

“I think that’s called animal cruelty,” Jungeun replied. “You should resist those urges.”

Hyejoo glared at her. “You ruined the moment.”

“You both did,” Chaewon grabbed her arm, “so before it gets worse, we’re leaving.” She took Yerim’s hand too, dragging them both to the door. Yeojin waved, looking more than a little confused at what was happening. 

“See you tomorrow!” Yerim said, laughing as they went out the door. 

When it closed, Jinsoul realised they were alone. 

“Those fish weren’t conjured, by the way.” Jungeun was looking over at the pond. “They won’t vanish this time. Promise.”

“It wasn't that bad,” Jinsoul found herself saying. "I wasn't that mad."

“Really,” she gave her a look, “I heard you named each of them.” Then her eyes widened. 

“Jungeun?”

She coughed once. Then she squawked. It was the bird sound again. 

Jinsoul felt a small wave of panic.

Jungeun covered her mouth, eyes wide. Another squawk. 

“Oh shit,” Jinsoul gasped, “I’m so sorry.” She tried to see if there was any other sign that Jungeun was turning. “They fix this stuff in St. Mungo’s. We can just go there by the Floo Network and I’ll tell them I hexed you.” 

Jungeun smiled then. “They’d buy it.” Her voice was normal again. 

Jinsoul froze. 

“Sorry, I had to.” Jungeun laughed. It bordered on a screech. 

She punched her arm. "No you didn't."

“Ow!” She scooted away. “Sorry!” 

“I almost thought your voice was going to change back.” Jinsoul smacked her arm again. “I wish it had.” 

“That’d be a shame,” Jungeun said, still smiling. “People love my voice.” 

“People,” Jinsoul said. “Including your parents or not?” 

“Including,” she replied. “And all my fans at home.” 

“You haven’t changed at all,” Jinsoul grumbled. “Would’ve thought twenty-four hours could’ve given you a bit of humility.” 

“I was trapped!” Jungeun protested. “And I was a badass owl. I can outfly a seeker, a beater, and a chaser.” She had that excited look in her eyes, just like when she’d been lugging the forest up the stairs. It suited her. 

“Your entire body is made for flight,” Jinsoul replied. “As a bird.” 

The corner of her lip tilted up. “It’s like that as a human too.” 

Jinsoul rolled her eyes. “You’re unbearable.” 

“I know.” She winked. “But you’re acting like I should’ve learned something about myself out there.” She shrugged “I just found out that I can smash through a window.” Her eyes fell down to the ground. “I mean, if I learned anything, it was probably about you.”

“About me?” Jinsoul tried to ignore how she started to blush. “You found out I talk to animals like they can understand me?” 

“ _I_ understood everything.” Jungeun smiled. “My favourite part was you thinking I’d sent the bird.” 

“You tried to attack me when I said that” 

“It’s funnier thinking back now.” Jungeun’s smile faded slightly. “Sorry.” She rubbed at her neck, wincing slightly. 

“You overdid it,” Jinsoul said. “You didn’t have to break a window in the library.” She looked at the various bruises littering her skin then, and the scratches. 

“I did,” she retorted. “Either Kang was gonna kill me or someone else was.” 

“Madame Kang would never hurt a fly, let alone an owl.” Jinsoul shook her head. “Until you took a book?” 

“I’d used that when I learned how to,” she did a flapping motion with her arms, “you know. I thought I’d missed a reverse spell.” Then she sighed. “But I should’ve gone to the Restricted Section first.”

Jinsoul couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “You just made transforming into an owl sound lame.” She knocked their shoulders together. “You’re an actual animagus, Jungeun.” 

“It’s not that special,” Jungeun laughed, “if I can do it, the rest of you’ll be able to. Hyejoo’s gonna be learning it too. You could.” She moved closer, bumping their shoulders. “Even if you turn into a fish.”

She shook her head. “I’m taking care of the fish.”

Jungeun just nodded, the smile still on her face. She glanced away every now and then, as if she couldn’t look her in the eyes. 

“You really _really_ care about animals,” she said. “Even if they’re probably evil.” 

“Piranhas aren’t evil,” Jinsoul replied. “They just look it.” She nudged her side. “But you weren’t evil as a bird either. Or now, even if you’re annoying in both forms.” 

Jungeun’s smile slowly grew. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me. At least in the last two years.”

She felt a pang of guilt then. 

Her smile faded. “I didn’t mean it like that! I get it, trust me. I mean, I’ve never done something that was, you know, a pleasant surprise for you.”

The words clicked in her head. She remembered what the rest had said too. 

“Is that why you made this?” She waved at the room. 

Jungeun’s jaw fell slack. “Uh,” she stammered. “What?”

Jinsoul’s cheeks were burning. She wondered if it was showing. “Remember what I said before I cast that spell?” She barely remembered it, but she did know what the others had told her. Or what she’d made them tell her. 

She’d opened her mouth multiple times, before closing it again. She looked around the room, but didn’t focus on anything. 

“You can tell me another time?” Jinsoul suggested. 

That snapped her out of her head. “I think it can last a while, honestly. If it’s got a semi-decent ecosystem going.” She ran her hand across the mossy floor. Her ears were red again. “And yeah,” she muttered, “it’s for you.” She looked away again. All bravado had fallen away. She suddenly looked extremely nervous.

Jinsoul had known that, but hearing it was almost surreal. She still had no idea why Jungeun had done any of this. 

“For what?”

“For your animals,” she mumbled. 

“My animals?” Jinsoul repeated. 

“Or just to relax,” Jungeun added hurriedly. “This isn’t supposed to be more work for you. I just, well, you know,” she broke off.

“Do I?” She raised a brow. 

Jungeun lightly kicked her leg. “You’re so annoying.” 

“Funny that it’s _you_ saying that.” She realised she was still holding her arm. She was torn between letting go and staying where she was. “But,” she squeezed her arm before letting go, “I might not be able to smuggle a shark in here, but I can think of a few creatures I’d have here.” She looked around. “Bowtruckles are a must.” 

"Of course." She snorted. “Should've known you'd get those first.” 

Jinsoul tickled her sides. She squealed and moved away. “So you’ll make it all of this and then mock me too?” 

Jungeun grabbed her hands, keeping them away from her. “Yeah.” She grinned back at her. Her eyes had lit up. “It’s kinda easy.” She let go. 

They sat there in a comfortable silence. Jinsoul didn’t know the last time that’d happened. 

Jungeun was fiddling with her wand, twirling it around her fingers. 

“You know,” Jinsoul began, “I was so confused why everyone was asking me about you.” She started laughing. “It was because you were supposed to show me this, but you,” she cackled, “you turned into an owl.” 

“I will put all this back in those boxes.” Jungeun was glaring at her, but she was smiling too. 

“No,” she nudged her with her shoulder, “this is great.” 

Jungeun looked away, biting her lip. “Great,” she said. “That’s really, really,” she trailed off. 

“Great?” 

Jungeun shrugged once. Her ears were even redder. 

“Thank you.” Jinsoul met her eyes. There wasn’t a hint of a smirk, annoyance, or even any playfulness. Jungeun didn’t say anything, but she nodded. “Why’d you do this? To do a good deed?” She chuckled. “Because one new fish would’ve been enough for that.” 

“I thought about that.” Jungeun nodded. “But it didn’t really fit. This still doesn’t make up for, well, everything,” she tilted her head, looking up, “but I thought it’d at least be something nice for you. And we don’t exactly have a lot of time to go into the actual forest, and it’s getting freezing too.” She kept talking, eyes wandering across the ceiling. Again with the nervousness. “Maybe turning into a bird was good,” she laughed slightly, “you probably wouldn’t have seen it today.”

“What makes you think that?”

“You still thought this was a prank,” Jungeun replied. “I don’t blame you.” 

Jinsoul smiled. “You’re also doing something next week, so today was the exception.”

She nodded, something flickering in her eyes again. It wasn’t nervousness, that was already there. 

Jinsoul was still trying to process what she’d been hearing. Jungeun had done all this for her? She’d turned into an owl in the process. And now they were here. Jinsoul’s hair was still on her head. 

“So,” Jinsoul turned to her, “you’re telling me how you made this later.” She got to her feet. “Because I think you actually need to go sleep.” 

“Didn’t you hear Haseul, I’m nocturnal now.”

“You look exhausted now,” Jinsoul said. “So it’s worth a try.” 

Wincing the entire time, Jungeun shifted around so she was on her hands and feet. 

“What are you doing?”

She laughed. “I’m trying to get up.” She groaned as she tried to get up. “It all hurts.”

Jinsoul took her arms and pulled her up. Jungeun winced. 

“I don’t think I’m getting out of bed tomorrow.” She put her hands on her legs, leaning on them. 

Jinsoul got her bag and her robes. “Should I walk with you?”

Jungeun looked surprised. “Uh,” her eyes went to her bag, “it’s okay, you don’t have to.” 

“I’ll be making sure you don’t turn into an owl again,” she replied. “And I don’t think you’ll be able to carry this.” She hefted the bag. “What do you have in there?” They left the room. The many scents of the room faded. Jinsoul missed them. 

She shrugged. “You can look if you want.”

Jinsoul debated whether or not she’d pry. 

She looked. 

There were _several_ books on Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and something on Astronomy. 

“You don’t need all of these."

She glanced at the CMA book, her brow raising a fraction. “That’s what you noticed there?”

Jinsoul frowned and looked back. 

Pushed off to the side were several blue pieces of cardboard. Was it cardboard? 

No, they were from the boxes. 

She pulled one out, only to find that it felt softer than velvet, almost as if it’d been made by from a mixture of air and water. 

“Wow,” she breathed, staring at it. “This’s incredible.” 

“Do you want one?” Jungeun asked. “Or two.”

“How do they work?” 

“They’re not exactly endless,” she shrugged, “but a lot fits in there.”

“You didn’t put an actual tree in one, did you?”

Jungeun laughed. “I wish,” she grinned, “but I did get some saplings in there, plus the fish.” Her eyes widened. “They were fine! An actual tank got in the second box and it wasn’t spilling.” She looked panicked. “I swear.”

“Don’t worry,” Jinsoul patted her arm, “I believe you.”

“Really?” 

_Trust me_. _At least a little?_

Jinsoul nodded. 

Jungeun looked like she was holding back a smile. She was smiling a lot. Was she always this way and Jinsoul had just missed it?

As they walked, they both became a bit quieter. Either Jungeun or Jinsoul would break the silence with a small question, usually about the work they still had to do. Jinsoul wanted to know more about the room, as well as why it was for her, but Jungeun looked exhausted. She’d probably make things awkward too, which she didn’t want. She’d always thought the two of them would be _extremely_ awkward if Jungeun stopped being intolerable and they had a normal conversation. 

But it wasn’t anything like that. 

It was almost over too soon. They reached the entrance to the Slytherin common room. It was a lot colder down here. 

Jungeun turned to her with a warm look in her eye. Jinsoul felt her face warm immediately. She wanted to look away, but knew that’d just make it all worse. 

“Thanks for turning me back,” Jungeun said. “And for even helping me out in the first place.”

“You were trapped as a bird,” she replied. “Of course I’d get you out of there.” 

“I mean,” she shrugged, “you could’ve had a few days of peace and quiet.”

Jinsoul raised a brow. “Today was anything _but_ peace and quiet.You even raided the library.”

A glint of a challenge appeared in her eyes. “There might be some days where you’ll _wish_ I was a bird again.”

“There’s a cage that’ll fit you like this too.”

Jungeun smirked. “If you were really gonna lock me up, you would’ve done it a long time ago.”

“Actually,” Jinsoul tried not to smile, “it’s because I haven’t been able to conjure a cage that big yet.”

Jungeun laughed, before cringing. She held her chest. “Ow.”

She patted her shoulder, laughing slightly. “Even if you won't sleep, you should lay down.”

Jungeun nodded. She said the password then. The wall slowly slid open. 

“By the way,” Jinsoul lightly squeezed her shoulder, “I like you a lot more as a human than an owl, so don’t start making this a thing.”

She shook her head, a little spark in her eyes. 

“Goodnight,” Jinsoul said. She almost hugged her, but held back. They hadn’t ever hugged. 

Then she remembered when Jungeun had turned back to a human. She’d basically thrown herself on her. 

Jinsoul was torn between being embarrassed and dismissing it. 

“Night,” Jungeun said, flashing her a brief smile. She looked slightly stunned. 

The silence that came then was suddenly very uncomfortable. 

Then Jungeun was going into the common room, glancing back once and waving quickly. 

The wall started to close. 

Jinsoul sighed as she went back up the stairs. She’d been annoyed, angry, and amused around Jungeun before, but never awkward. Not really. 

Until just now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I genuinely meant for this to be a oneshot, but that didn't work out. There's just one more chapter, because I needed to break this into two parts. This is still my shortest story, but I'm starting to think I'm incapable of keeping things genuinely short. 
> 
> Either way, the last part will come very soon. Thank you for reading this story though. This idea had come to me pretty suddenly and I'd had so much fun writing it out. Like my other HP story, writing in this world makes me so happy, so I'm glad I was able to bring Loona in as well. 
> 
> See you next chapter!


	3. What?

When Jinsoul got to the Great Hall, a little later than normal, she let herself look over to the Slytherin table. 

Chaewon and Hyejoo were giggling about something, while Vivi and Haseul were bent over a book. Jungeun wasn’t there. Probably sleeping. She hoped she was sleeping. 

She sat down opposite Sooyoung. 

“Morning.”

She hummed once, before raising an eyebrow. “So.” 

Jinsoul frowned. “So?”

“What is it with you two now? Friends?”

“Friends?” Of all the words to use, that one sounded weird to her. 

Sooyoung’s brow rose. “Oh?”

Jinsoul blushed. “Not what you’re thinking.”

“What am I thinking?” 

“Shut up,” she threw a bread roll at her, “don’t even start.”

“I just asked you a few things.” Sooyoung smirked at her. “You did all the talking.” A pause. “Good morning, by the way.”

Jinsoul started filling her plate. As much as she didn’t want it to, the idea made her think. Were they friends now? She didn’t exactly think that an actual room made for her meant friendship. Not exactly. 

“But if you can actually see her without having to resist jinxing her,” Sooyoung fiddled with her fork, “we’re having a party and you’re coming.” 

She frowned. “I’m busy.” 

“Prefect duty’s cancelled for you, her, Haseul too.” She took a sip of orange juice. “We talked to Minnie, and you’re off just as long as you come.”

“How many’re coming?” 

Sooyoung rolled her eyes. “Don’t start being our house’s stereotype. When was the last time you even went to a party?”

“The one we had on the first day?” 

“Except for that,” Sooyoung said. “You skipped two.” 

“I had a good reason.”

“For _one_ ,” she shot back. “Taking care of a mandrake is a terrible reason.”

“It was sick!” 

Sooyoung pinched the bridge of her nose. “It was put in a healing potion a _week_ after.”

Jinsoul’s heart clenched. She knew they were kept for their healing properties. They’d even saved people from petrification in Harry Potter’s time, but for that they were killed. People argued if mandrakes were supposed to be considered creatures or plants. Jinsoul firmly believed they were creatures. 

“Oh my god,” Sooyoung stared at her, “you’re still mourning it. Please don’t tell me you gave it a name.”

She didn’t reply to that. 

“I’m so happy she gave you that room,” Sooyoung muttered. “You better keep _all_ that,” she waved at her, “out of the dorm.” 

“You just got knocked out once,” Jinsoul said. “You didn’t wear earmuffs like I told you to.”

“I _thought_ you’d put it on the balcony.”

Heejin and Hyunjin had come along. 

“It was freezing out there.”

“I broke my nose!” 

“You already covered this when it happened,” Hyunjin grabbed a cinnamon roll, “and then the week after that.” She handed it to Heejin, who sat down beside Sooyoung, eyes drooping. 

“What happened?” Jinsoul asked. 

“History,” Hyunjin reached over and pinched her cheek, “she wanted to get it done before the party.” 

“But it’s for Monday, I’m guessing?”

“I won’t be doing that tomorrow,” Heejin muttered. “And I’ve got Potions and Ancient Runes for Tuesday, so I’ll save everything else for that and the party.” She glared up at her. “If you’re not coming, I’ll take your new fish.”

“We’re using insults and threats now?” Jinsoul looked between her and Sooyoung. “Because I’ll be getting my children back soon.”

“Not the snail,” Heejin’s head snapped up, “please not the snail.”

Sooyoung cringed then. “Don’t let Jiwoo hear you say that.” 

“Are you bringing back the snail?”

Jinsoul shook her head. “She died.” Another small stab to her heart. “But I’m getting a new one.”

Heejin groaned. “Did anyone tell Jungeun she was enabling?” She peered over at her. “Because I think your beasts are gonna be worse than her—that owl.”

Jiwoo and Yerim came next. Yerim sat down on Jinsoul’s other side, immediately leaning her head on her shoulder. 

She chose not to reply to that. Her owls could come out of the Owlery now. She’d leave the window open during the night so they could go in and out. There was a chance she’d be able to bring the cats. They didn’t hate the owls like most, and she’d managed to keep them from attacking any snail, snake, or rat, but they’d probably be able to sneak out of the classroom. And then the rest would complain again. 

“See what I mean?” Heejin pointed at Jinsoul. “She’s thinking about how she’ll get the most out of it.” 

“Which is what she should be doing,” Jiwoo chimed in. “And you use the Clocktower every year, so it’s not that different.”

“Paintings don’t scratch, burn, or screech,” Hyunjin replied. She’d finished a cinnamon roll, a content smile on her face. “Even the sculptures were peaceful. For the most part.”

“Was it her idea?” Jinsoul asked then. She was also hoping to avoid a debate about whose hobbies were the most destructive. Excluding Jungeun, Jinsoul’s were probably high on that list, though she was pretty sure Chaewon or Yeojin had her beat. 

“The room?” Jiwoo asked. 

Jinsoul nodded. “Or did she ask you what she should do.”

“We talked her down from making an aquarium,” Sooyoung replied. “Or, Hyun and I did.” 

“And once I heard about the shark story, I _know_ that was the right call.” Hyunjin gave her a pointed look. “I thought you were supposed to be the sane one.”

“Anyway,” Yerim shot Hyunjin a look, “she didn’t know which idea to go with for a while. Then she found out from Hagrid that one of the centaurs had taught Divination for a while. She figured out how to get the trees and stuff in, but she never got the stars down.”

“Stars?” Jinsoul repeated. 

She smiled, almost giddy. “I think she got a blanket to look like that, but she thought it sucked.” Then she glanced around. 

“I think Jungie can tell you the rest,” Jiwoo said. 

“Right.” Yerim looked a bit guilty. “But she would’ve never said anything about the aquarium.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t let her to that,” Jinsoul turned to Sooyoung, “fish can’t sneak out. Nifflers can.” 

The look of realisation made Jinsoul laugh. The one of dread that followed made her laugh harder. 

When she calmed down, she spotted someone walking in. 

Jungeun’s face was clear of bruises and she was wearing a black turtleneck and jean-jacket. She waved at some people as she walked by, before reaching the others at the Slytherin table. She caught Jinsoul looking over and smiled. 

She returned it. 

“Would you look at that,” Hyunjin said. “All it took was a killer bird.”

Jiwoo threw a spoon at her. 

Jinsoul looked away from the table, turning her attention back to the table. She ignored the raised eyebrows, as well as the semi-excited look Yerim was wearing. 

_____

She’d managed to write the essay for Care of Magical Creatures, as well as Charms, along with some decent headway in Potions. What was making her want to give up completely was Transfiguration. She needed to explain the limitations and advantages to species transformations. Somehow, people cared about changing a rat into a bird. Jinsoul still wondered if that was okay to do. Would the creature realise there’d been a change? And if it did, wouldn’t that send it into a panic? 

And then she also had to think about the working of the spell itself. She understood how charms worked, but Transfiguration was something else. And if she tried to use science to explain any of it, she ended up falling into an existential crisis or just a confused breakdown. 

In other words, she hated Transfiguration. 

Jinsoul massaged her temple, fighting the urge to cry. 

“Before you ask,” Haseul took her hand, “you do have to go to this party.”

Jinsoul chuckled. “Want to pre-game?”

“It’s a little early for that,” she gave her a side hug, “take a break?”

“Maybe,” Jinsoul sighed, “I’ll take a walk first.” 

Haseul nodded. “You can leave your stuff here.” She winked. “I won’t give it away unless they offer me a _very_ good price.” 

“Except for the essays, sure,” she stood, “thanks, Seul.”

She left the library, stretching her arms above her head. Sixth year was better than fifth year, but she didn’t know if she was doing enough or not. N.E.W.Ts would be next year and she wanted to get at least an A in Transfiguration. She wanted an O in Charms and DADA, and an E in Potions, but that was looking less likely each day. And that wasn’t even talking about the project they’d be assigned early next year. It was a combination between an essay and some sort of experiment, at least if you wanted to try something new. 

Jinsoul was looking forward to it, but it’d just be even _more_ work. The only thing that saved her was that there were magizoologists who hadn’t even done the N.E.W.Ts. The most ironic part of it was that the most famous one was actually called Newt. 

She was on her way to the Ravenclaw common room, maybe to pick up a snack, but then she realised she had a better place to go. 

She kept going until the seventh floor. It was surprising that she still knew where the room was. 

The door was unlocked. Maybe once she got real animals in there, she’d have to lock it. Hopefully it’d work. 

It was exactly like yesterday, with the fresh air and gentle sounds of water trickling in. It wasn’t too cold or warm either. 

Jinsoul went straight to the little pond. The fish were there, swimming a bit closer to the surface when she came, but not directly. They were expecting food, but not hungry. 

She looked around the pond. Was there something they could eat in there? 

That was when she saw it. Tucked by a rock the size of a football were two bags of food. Fish food. 

Jinsoul felt herself smile. She wasn’t surprised. On another day, she probably would’ve been. 

She leaned back on her elbows, taking in the room. It looked a lot bigger somehow. Maybe it was the lack of desks and students. The main giveaway were the windows, but they added something instead of taking away from it. It reminded her that this wasn’t outside, but in Hogwarts. It reminded her that someone had made this. 

She looked up. The ceiling was coated in green with certain parts parted to reveal the stone beneath it. It didn’t matter that the stars weren’t there. She loved the room anyway. 

Jinsoul closed her eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet. It was exactly the kind of silence she enjoyed by the Great Lake, except even better because she couldn’t hear the other students. The empty quidditch pitch had that silence, sometimes practice too when they were all focused on getting whatever drills Sooyoung had set done. 

But she wasn’t flying now. She wasn’t being frozen by the wind or burned beneath the sun. It felt like both spring and autumn at the same time. 

She laid down properly, the moss beneath her acting like both a mattress and a pillow. She thought about which creatures would be the happiest in a room like this. They’d have to like the enclosed spaces and if there was the risk of them being trapped, she’d have to think of something else. 

At some point she dozed off. She dreamed of an owl and a fish, both of them surrounded by a grey and white light. The owl was completely red. Somehow, the fish was swimming in air. 

______

Jinsoul woke to the door opening. 

She sat up immediately, nearly falling into the pond. She rolled back. 

“Sorry!” a familiar voice said, an even more familiar face appearing. “Haseul said I should look for you. You never came back.” Jungeun didn’t come into the room. “I’ll tell her you’re here.” She started to go behind the door again. 

“Wait.”

Jungeun’s head poked out again. “How is it?” There was a hint of uncertainty in her voice. 

“I love it,” Jinsoul said. She meant it too. 

“Really?” Her expression was bright even from where Jinsoul sat. “Don’t want something else? I could try for another pond if you need something bigger. Or salt water. I think there’s a spell for that, but I’d also—”

“It’s perfect, Jungeun.” 

Jungeun stared at her. “Oh,” she said. 

“Are you busy?” 

“Not right now,” Jungeun replied. “Finished up with Potions and the Transfiguration essay.”

“You understood that?” 

Jungeun pulled away from the door, now half in the room. “Yeah?” Her brow rose a touch. 

“Does that come from experience?” 

“Not exactly,” she laughed, “but if you’ve trained an animal enough that it knows what to do when it’s a bird and when it’s a fish, that could be pretty handy.” She frowned. “No idea how it’d be used, but it’s possible.” 

“But isn’t that too vague?” Jinsoul asked. 

“You’re not supposed to get that specific,” Jungeun replied. “He wants us to speculate a little. Actually get creative with what could happen.” She shrugged. “As far as I know, no one really uses those spells unless it’s to mess with someone, or if they actually trained that creature, which takes years doesn’t it?”

“I think it’d take almost its entire life.”

“Then you transform it into a turtle and problem solved?” 

“I don’t think that’s how lifespans work,” Jinsoul tried to wrack her brain for it, “otherwise people with a turtle as their animagus would probably live extremely long. As long as it’s the right type of turtle.”

“I hope that’s not how it works.” Jungeun grimaced. “I googled it. Owls live until their mid-twenties or 

“Some cats live until they’re twenty,” Jinsoul replied. “And Professor McGonagall has lived a lot longer than that.” 

She relaxed. “Well that’s something you can write about. It’s a potential limitation.”

“Are you sure that’s what he’s looking for?”

“Remember the last one?” Jungeun asked. 

Jinsoul rolled her eyes. “I was a mark off a fail.”

“What’d you write about?”

“I answered the question,” she sat up further, “transfiguring an object into an animal should genuinely not be possible. It goes against a lot of what muggles have studied and proven, but also what we can’t do. No one can resurrect something.”

“And?” 

“And?” Jinsoul repeated. “You wrote more?”

“It’s still technically possible. All of it’s atoms, at the end of the day, right?” Jungeun sat down opposite her, letting out a soft groan. The bruises were faint across her face. Her eye was still swollen too. “I didn’t say anything about how that’s possible, because, well, it’d be a waste of time.” She huffed out a laugh. “But I said that what those spells do might actually be affecting something on the atomic, or even subatomic level. The energy’s maintained and maybe created,” she gave her a look, “which is also illegal according to the laws of physics. So maybe it isn’t.” She shrugged. “But he honestly didn’t care if my physics knowledge was right, because he has no idea about that stuff.”

“Then what did you get?”

“O,” she said. 

“What?” Jinsoul gaped at her. 

Jungeun chuckled. “He wasn’t looking for why it shouldn’t work, or that magic’s just magic and works like it does.” She glanced at the trees then. “He was looking for why it _could_ be possible and potential reasons for how it works. You could be talking out of your ass and he’d still take it, but it has to make some sense.”

Jinsoul sighed, falling back down to the ground. “That’s dumb.”

“It’s actually a lot of fun.” Jungeun sounded like she really meant it. “He’s one of the only ones where I get away with literal theories. DADA a little, but that’s more when it comes to the ethics and all that.”

She peeked up at her. Jungeun’s face had lit up. She usually only saw her this passionate when she was joking around with people, or messing with her about the next mess she’d made. 

“Hagrid would’ve like you a lot better if you’d acted like that in class.”

“Me being terrified by that Hippogriff didn’t help.”

“You kidnapping a blast-ended screwt didn’t help either.” 

“Right!” Jungeun looked away, but she looked a bit too pleased with herself. “You made my teeth grow half a metre, didn’t you?”

Jinsoul got a flash of that memory then. “You deserved it.” She was torn between still thinking it was funny and feeling guilty. 

Jungeun just nodded. 

“What did you use it for again?”

She bit her lip. “I was gonna set it loose at night to give the prefects something to do. Then I was planning on going to the pitch.”

Jinsoul felt a combination of shock and confusion. “But you’d snuck out before. _Without_ distractions.”

She shrugged. “I was bored, plus I was only in third year.”

Jinsoul shook her head, snickering. “You’re in sixth year now and you had an ink fight with Peeves in the first week back.”

She didn’t say anything to that. 

“How’re you feeling?”

“Good,” Jungeun nodded, “the craziest thing I did today was go up the stairs.”

“I’m guessing you’re probably not shifting for a while?” 

Another nod. “Nope,” she said. “And there’ll be enough of that once Hyejoo turns into some type of dog, maybe a bear.” She looked a bit excited at the thought. 

“If there’s a bear attack this year or next year,” Jinsoul warned. 

Jungeun laughed. “I can’t make any promises!” She raised her hands in surrender. “But I’ll try my best. And then we’ve got that spell you used if something goes wrong.”

“How’d it go wrong yesterday?” Jinsoul asked. “Was it because you were tired?” She didn’t mention that being intoxicated was another potential reason for it. She would later if Vivi brought any alcohol to the party. 

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Then she closed her eyes, sighing. Her cheeks were tinted pink. 

“Stress.” It sounded more like a question than an answer. 

“ _You_ stress about school?” Jinsoul smiled. “I thought you were on top of all this, even with your hundred suspensions.”

“Thirty,” Jungeun corrected. “But it wasn’t,” she grit her teeth, “about school.” Her eyes went to the pond. 

Jinsoul tried to think of how Jungeun had been the night before. She’d been as infuriating as ever. 

But she’d almost panicked when she’d seen Jinsoul. She’d asked her if she’d want to see it too. And then there’d been that look in her eyes every now and then. Usually when Jinsoul had tried to tell her a certain thing was definitely a _bad_ idea. The hint of nervousness would come, then be covered by a teasing smile. 

Jinsoul felt her mouth tug up. “Were you,” she leaned forward, dropping her voice to a whisper, “nervous?” 

“Shut up,” Jungeun pushed her away, “I wasn’t.” 

_You so were,_ Jinsoul thought. She smiled just thinking about it. “I did read that stress makes the turning back process a lot harder.” 

She didn’t reply. She didn’t look up either. 

“Jungeun,” she said. “Wanna tell me what really happened?” 

“Not really.” 

Jinsoul laughed. 

Jungeun smiled. 

A long pause, broken only by the small rush of wind, even a trickle of water. 

“You really put so much detail into this.” Jinsoul took it all in. “How?” She breathed in. It felt like fresh air. 

“Got one of the pipes extended out to here.” She looked proud. “And there’s a spell that can transfigure the air. Works like an air conditioner.” She waved her wand. “I’ll have to cast it once every two weeks. The trees help, but it still gets stuffy.” She pointed at the windows. “Might have to open those to air the place out a bit.”

Jungeun had said it casually, as if this wasn’t a big deal. 

But every two weeks, she’d come here to cast the spell. She’d spent the night here to make a forest. 

And she was doing that for her? 

Jinsoul looked away from the forest and back to her. 

Somehow, Jungeun looked like she belonged here. Even with the blonde hair and the green robes. 

Just like the windows, that mismatch made it better. 

“Are you going today?” Jungeun asked. “To the party?”

“I’m being forced to,” Jinsoul replied. “They even cancelled my patrol.”

Her brow furrowed. “How’d they do that?”

“Probably by inviting Minnie. Or promising her something else.”

“That must’ve bought my freedom then too,” Jungeun chuckled, “because they just told me someone else was covering it.”

Something scratched at the back of mind at that, but Jinsoul ignored it. 

“Well, just keep in mind that having a bit too much fun, could lead to another owl fiasco.”

“But you’ll be able to keep it from getting too bad, right?” Jungeun looked like she was joking, but also not. Jinsoul was reminded of how Jungeun had trusted her enough to cast that spell and it _not_ go horribly wrong. 

“Yeah,” Jinsoul nodded. “You do.”

______

Ravenclaw parties always had two venues. The balcony and the common room. They’d soundproofed the dorms of everyone so that no sounds would go in, but sounds could come out of them. With the way that Hogwarts usually worked, some children got nightmares. 

Thankfully, Jinsoul hadn’t needed to help with setting up. Heejin and Sooyoung had taken that up. She still had no idea how many people were coming. Their quidditch team was definitely coming. If almost half of Slytherin’s was coming, the rest’d probably be there too. Yerim was too much of a bundle of sunshine to not invite a fair amount of her friends. 

And now there was music and people were slowly filing in. Jinsoul had already taken to laying down on the sofa. She’d finished Transfiguration, Jungeun’s method in mind. 

As she’d written it, she’d realised more of how Jungeun actually worked, as well as how she’d been able to get the grades she did. Jinsoul felt guilty for being surprised, but she hadn’t realised how much Jungeun thought through these things. She also hadn’t recognised how skilled she really was at magic. 

And then she’d transformed a room into a forest with a working pond. 

Jinsoul had also really seen why so much of the school liked her. And why the teachers liked her too. Maybe all of those detentions had actually involved lengthy discussions of magic. Jungeun may have been short-tempered at times, especially when she’d been younger, but Jinsoul had never seen or heard her turning a discussion into an argument. Some people couldn’t discuss something without getting mad, but Jungeun wasn’t like that. Even when they’d been paired up for a Charms assignment, it’d only really been Jinsoul who’d gotten irritated. Jungeun had kept suggesting for them to try it on Felix’s hair. 

“You gonna be like this the whole time?” Someone sat down beside her, their voice almost ridiculously airy. 

“Maybe.”

Chaewon sighed. “Please don’t tell me you’re gonna be boring tonight.”

“I’m never boring.” Jinsoul opened her eyes. 

She raised a brow at her. “You sure about that?”

“Since when do you think I’m boring?” Jinsoul asked.

“Your idea of extreme is flying a hippogriff around school.” 

“Which is amazing.”

Chaewon rolled her eyes. “I guess, but you should actually wake up for tonight. From what I can tell, you’re all gonna get even more busy in a couple months.” She poked her side. “So you should have some fun while you still can.”

Jinsoul realised then that this was the younger Slytherin’s method of using ‘tough love’. 

She sat up. 

“You guys ended up finding that book, right?” 

Chaewon nodded. “Hye tried summoning it, and it ended up hitting me in the face, but we didn’t lose any points.” She was looking to the opposite side of the room, a tiny smile on her face. Hyejoo was currently trying to set up the game console she’d brought over. Jinsoul wondered if it was a good thing that past students had figured out a way to get electronics to work in Hogwarts. 

“You’re calling me boring when she’ll be playing that all night?”

“ _That_ ,” Chaewon sent her a playful glare, “is the best FPS game of the year.” She then grabbed her arm, pulling her up. “And you’re gonna play a round.”

Jinsoul let herself be dragged over and promptly lost five rounds of the game.

“You must’ve had _one_ of these at your house,” Hyejoo stared at her, “how can _I_ beat _you_?”

Jinsoul leaned back, face burning. “You’re obsessed. I’m not.”

“You also suck.” Chaewon had finally stopped giggling. She wiped at her eyes. “Can you play one more?” 

She handed the controller to Yerim. “No thanks.” 

Hyejoo called her a wimp, while Yeojin booed. 

Jinsoul threw a handful of chips at them, before leaving. 

One group were playing beer pong, while another was playing exploding snap. Several people already had singed hair and eyebrows. 

Immediately, she knew she wasn’t joining either of them. She didn’t want to drink today and she wasn’t going to risk burning her hair off any time soon. 

She looked to the sofas again, only to see there was no one there. She almost smiled in relief. 

When she went over, she saw there was actually someone there. They were passed out on the sofa. It was Jungeun. 

“Wake her up.” Sooyoung had walked over from the beer pong table. “She still owes me a game of gobstones.”

“Why me?” Jinsoul wasn’t even going to comment on how Sooyoung was probably going to lose. Again. 

“You and Yerim, and maybe Jiwoo are the only people here who’ll wake her up and _not_ go bald for it.” Then she went off to the snack table. 

Jinsoul looked back to Jungeun, only to see her arm slowly slipping off the cushions. She was reminded of when Jungeun had fallen asleep as an owl. 

She went over and shook her gently. 

Jungeun groaned, turning away. 

“Sooyoung told me to wake you,” Jinsoul said, trying to speak quietly in spite of the music currently getting louder. “And if I’m not allowed to sleep, you aren’t either.”

“Fine,” she mumbled. “Just give me a few minutes.”

“Enough time to go back to sleep, right?” Jinsoul grabbed her hands and pulled her into a sitting position. 

Jungeun whined. “You’re cruel.” Her eyes were still closed. 

“Clearly you’re partying hard.” Jinsoul laughed. She sat down beside her. 

She shook her head. “I’ve never fallen asleep at a party. At least not this early.” She rubbed her eyes. 

Jinsoul leaned over, making sure she wasn’t heard. “And you’re supposed to be nocturnal.”

Jungeun laughed slightly, glancing at her. “This’s like waking up at six in the morning.” She leaned back, eyes drooping again. 

She squeezed her hands. “Need something to stay awake?” She glanced at the table. “They’ve got Monster.”

She grimaced. “If coffee makes me jittery, then that’ll give me a heart attack.” She peered over at her. “Did you guys even put water there?”

Jinsoul looked. “Nope, but there’s soda. Should I get that?” 

Jungeun pulled her back before she could get up. “When they come get us.” Her bottom lip jutted out slightly. Then she slumped back, closing her eyes. “I’m exhausted.”

“Still because of yesterday?”

She peeked out of one eye. “I was chased across school and nearly got burned alive.”

Jinsoul got a vivid flash of yesterday. “Almost slamming into a building probably didn’t help either, did it?”

Her lips twitched. “Not exactly.” Her eyes opened. “What’re you having to drink?” She straightened, looking like she was slowing waking up. 

Jinsoul frowned at her. “You were just sleeping.”

She shrugged. “You’re not tired.” She stood up. “I’ll try not to be.”

Jinsoul realised she was still holding her hands. She let go of one. It didn’t feel weird. 

Jungeun looked at the one she was still holding. The corner of her mouth tugged up. She didn’t let go, but shifted their hands to be a bit more comfortable. She just walked to the drinks table. 

Jinsoul purposefully didn’t look around, knowing she’d get a fair amount of raised eyebrows if she did. She just focused on how Jungeun was slowly getting her energy back as she looked over the table. 

“What did you want?” She glanced up at her. 

“Sprite.”

She uncapped it and then poured it into a cup, before handing it to her. She did the same with the cola. Jinsoul was slightly surprised when she didn’t add anything else. 

“Not drinking?” Jinsoul asked.

“You said there’s a risk of becoming a bird, right?” Jungeun sipped her drink. “I’m not taking any risks of that for a while.” 

“Was it scary?

She nodded. “Terrifying. I thought I’d never be human again, then I realised that didn’t happen unless the spell actually went wrong, which it didn’t.” A pause. “But I was panicking. Flying from tree to tree, almost breaking a window, but,” she faltered. “Then I would’ve ruined your room.” 

“My room,” she repeated. “Can other people use it?” 

Jungeun’s brow rose. “Yeah, yeah of course.” She took another sip. 

“Then you can too, you know,” Jinsoul told her. “If the animals coming in don’t bother you.” 

The corner of her lip tugged up. “They can’t be that bad, can they?” 

“Hasn’t Sooyoung told you the horror stories?” 

“A couple,” Jungeun shrugged, “but you know how to handle them, don’t you?” 

“Mostly!” Jinsoul smiled. “You never told me who the person is with the dragon, by the way.” 

“I will,” she returned it, “his name’s Joel. He’s a little like how you were then.” Then she looked a bit uncertain. “I mean that in a good way.” 

“I hope you did.” Jinsoul elbowed her with the arm still attached to hers. Then she let go, wondering why it hadn’t felt weird until that moment. 

“Jungie!” Jiwoo bounded over. “Soo’s ready to try again.” She looked Jinsoul’s way once, her smile somehow growing. 

Jungeun snickered. “Really?” 

“Wait,” Jinsoul tried to find her, “she was serious?”

Jiwoo nodded. “Tries it every time.” She looked like she’d given up. “She’s upstairs, by the way.”

Jinsoul followed the two. When she looked around, she saw that a certain few people had gone upstairs. Very few actually cared for gobstones anymore. Especially since it always made a mess. 

And somehow Jungeun and Sooyoung had made it a tradition that they’d always play a round. Jinsoul had stopped watching after Sooyoung had lost for the tenth time in a row. 

She saw Haseul first when they reached the balcony. She was conjuring some bluebell flames, while Vivi was summoning glass jars for them. 

Sooyoung was currently lining some stones in circles. 

“I thought you’d given up on this,” Jinsoul said. “You didn’t even play last time.” She went closer to one of the flames, crossing her arms. 

“We did,” Jungeun said. 

“You left before the grand finale,” Hyunjin rolled her eyes, “and guess who won that one.”

“I still don’t get why you keep watching,” Jinsoul muttered. “It’s always the same.”

“We all want to see _the_ Ha Sooyoung try her best,” Hyejoo replied. 

“Glad I’m the entertainment,” Sooyoung muttered. 

“You could just admit you suck,” Chaewon chimed in. 

No response. 

“Let’s just get this over with,” Jungeun cracked her knuckles, “it’s freezing.” She pulled out her wand. “So what kind of filling, water, or something a little more exciting?”

“You’re not using jelly,” Sooyoung warned, “ever again.”

By the smile that Jungeun wore, Jinsoul knew exactly what she’d be filling the gobstones with. It was almost a relief that she was as annoying with her friends as she was with everyone else. 

The game started. It was spent with Sooyoung cursing and the rest of them dodging the flying bursts of jelly every time she lost a point. The Ravenclaw was half covered in the stuff, looking increasingly irritated. Her throws also went wider because of it. Jinsoul had gotten a nice amount across her trousers, while Hyunjin and Heejin’s tops had both been covered in it. 

“You’re worse than usual,” Hyejoo drawled. “Should some of us leave?” She aimed a pointed look in the direction of Hyunjin and Jiwoo. She was definitely not looking at Hyunjin. 

“Want me to aim this at your head?” Sooyoung lifted the stone. 

“You can try.” She winked at her. 

Sooyoung tossed the ball. It went wide from the centre. Jelly burst from it. 

Hyejoo yelped and moved away, but the stuff got all over her back. 

There was absolute silence as Hyejoo turned around, looking stunned. Even Chaewon looked a bit uncertain. 

“How is this the one time you hit the target?” Hyejoo asked. “How’re you even a _chaser_?” She snickered, grabbing some of the jelly on her trousers and tossing it at Sooyoung. It missed and splattered on Haseul’s shoe. “Sorry!” 

“I think we’re done,” Vivi said, visibly trying to hide her laughter. “I think you’re in the negatives?”

“Minus nine,” Jungeun threw her ball and hit the next gobstone out of the ring, “or two points if we just count this round.”

“Fine,” Sooyoung dug in her pocket, “you win this one.” She tossed her a galleon. 

Jiwoo pulled out her wand, going to her side. “ _Tergeo_ ,” she muttered, siphoning away the jelly from her hair. 

Sooyoung smiled sheepishly. “Thanks.” 

“Do you do this just to try?” she asked, hip bumping her, “or do you think you’ll win?”

Jinsoul tuned out of _that_ conversation in a heartbeat. She’d already cleaned her clothes, so she followed the rest away from the balcony and towards the stairs. Jungeun was gathering the gobstones and slipping them into a bag that looked like it was red. It seemed a lot like those blue boxes from the other day. 

“Lovebirds!” Vivi shouted. “You owe me for almost ruining my robes, and you owe me .a little more than that.” She pointed at Jiwoo. 

Within seconds, Jiwoo was scrambling towards the door, Sooyoung in tow, while Chaewon and Hyejoo almost knocked into Jinsoul while running past her. 

Then said door slammed shut. Jinsoul heard a very audible click, then a small bang. The door trembled. 

Jinsoul stared at it, trying to process whatever that was. 

“I think they bet on this.” Jungeun pulled the tie on the bag, before putting it in the corner of the balcony. 

“I think they locked us out,” Jinsoul said. 

Her head snapped to her. She groaned at the motion. “What?” 

“I heard the lock.” 

Jungeun went over to the door and tried it. The handle didn’t even move. 

“ _Alohomora_.” Jinsoul aimed her wand at the lock. There wasn’t even a click. 

Jungeun still tried to push down on the handle. “Should I,” she pulled out her own wand, “burn it down?”

“ _No_ ,” Jinsoul grabbed her arm, “doors on the outside of school have enchantments against that. There’s a fifty percent chance it’ll freeze you if you try something, twenty-five that your arm turns boneless, ten that you turn into a slug, and five that you get apparatus straight into the dungeons.”

She stared at her. “What?” 

“That’s how one of the spells work,” Jinsoul replied. “And there’s others that’ll actually kill you, but they don’t put any of those around the school.” She nodded at the door. “Especially if a student does something like this.” 

Jungeun looked from the door to her. Then she pocketed her wand. 

“So they blocked the door,” Jungeun said. “From the inside and it didn’t do anything?”

“One way spell?” Jinsoul suggested. “Like those two-way mirrors.”

“That’s convenient,” she muttered. “Why the hell would they lock us out.” She looked apologetic. “Maybe this is payback for the bird stuff,” she looked at her, “sorry.” She then started gathering the jars of blue fire. She brought them back to her. 

“I don’t think it’s that,” she said. She had no idea what, but she was pretty sure she was right. 

“Really?” Confusion flickered in Jungeun’s eyes. “You think they’re setting something up inside?” Then she shrugged. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to settle with this.” She knelt down, putting the first fire jar down. “Are you warm enough?” 

Jinsoul nodded, watching as Jungeun placed the different jars around them. The blue caught in her pale hair, reflecting slightly in her eyes. Another reminder that Jungeun was undeniably gorgeous. 

“Hungry?” She took out her wand again and waved it. A bag of chips appeared in front of Jinsoul, hovering in the air. “I am.” The chips drifted over to her then. She grabbed it and opened it, holding it out to her again. 

Jinsoul laughed. “You got comfortable fast.”

“Why not?” Jungeun dropped a few chips in her mouth. She chewed on them before swallowing. “It’s nice out here.” She sat down, leaning her back on the wall beside the door. “I like our view better, but this one’s okay.”

“Okay?” Jinsoul sat down next to her. 

“We have the lake,” she replied. “And I don’t like heights.”

“You’re a quidditch player.” 

“That’s different.” Jungeun waved her wand again and a bottle of water appeared, as well as sprite. It fell into Jinsoul’s lap. “You forget you’re up that high on a broom.” She took several gulps of water. “And before you ask, I haven’t flown around enough as a bird to tell you if it’s worse or not.”

Jinsoul chuckled. “You’re a little confusing,” she said. “You’re afraid of heights, but your animal’s an owl.”

“And I’m a prefect, but I’ve gotten the most detentions ever?” 

“I wasn’t going to say that.”

“But you thought it.” Jungeun tapped her arm with the water bottle. “Didn’t make a lot of sense to me either.”

“It does,” Jinsoul said. “It makes sense.” 

She looked at her, unconvinced. “Jinsoul, you really don’t have to sugarcoat this.”

“I’m not,” she insisted. “You just have to think about it a little longer.”

“Like a whole year?” Jungeun laughed slightly, but she still looked confused. “Maybe two.”

“Just took me today,” Jinsoul admitted. “They can’t let you off for what you did, but I think a lot of them appreciate it. A teacher can’t exactly get into a war with Peeves unless it’s McGonagall. And no student’s actually going to challenge him to an ink fight unless they’re crazy enough to be prepared for him to attack them at any moment.” 

She looked down at the chips, taking out another handful. 

“And except for one or two times, no one actually got hurt. They were from all houses too, so you weren’t really targeting people.” She thought about how Jungeun would occasionally bombard certain people who still cared about blood status with jinxes. “Unless they deserved it.” 

Jungeun was still chewing on the chips. Jinsoul wondered if she’d summoned them to avoid having to speak. 

Still, she took that as the cue to keep going. “I think I get why you keep dragging first and second years into some of that stuff too.” Jinsoul took some chips as well. “Fighting ghosts is probably a great bonding experience.”

“You should try it,” Jungeun said quietly. It sounded like a quip, but she wasn’t looking at her. 

“I missed the last one.” And she wasn’t sure if she’d go _that_ far when it came to Jungeun. She’d been way too vocal about hating it to join in, even if she was tempted. 

“Next one’s in January.” She peered over at her. Her cheeks were flushed. “And I’m not telling you that so you can block it.”

“I won’t.”

It looked like that caught her off guard. “First you tell me it makes sense they made me prefect and now you’re not blowing up about the ghost fight?”

Jinsoul nodded. “I might, but not right now.”

Jungeun didn’t say anything. Her eyes just flit between Jinsoul’s, as if she wasn’t buying it. Then she laughed softly. 

“What?” Jinsoul liked the look in Jungeun’s eyes. 

“Nothing,” she shook her head, “but,” she raised a brow, “this isn’t coming on because human me is a lot better than me as an owl, right?”

Jinsoul laughed. “I don’t think so?”

“Why is that a question?” 

“Because I’m not sure,” Jinsoul said. “You’re a lot less intimidating now that I know you’re a bird, less annoying on a relative scale too.” She bumped her shoulder. “And maybe I’ll take that room as a peace offering.” 

Jungeun smiled. “It’s not exactly peace if I’m still gonna check off my to-do list.”

“You make a list?” Jinsoul asked. 

“For a few things,” she chewed on her lip, “but yeah.”

She shook her head. Being an owl really hadn’t changed her. “I know you’re not changing that.” She was torn on how to say what she wanted next. “But I mean that I probably won’t start shouting at you anymore. Or try to track you down when I realise you’ve destroyed Myrtle’s bathroom again.” 

“That was once,” Jungeun retorted. “And I was trying to find that entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.”

“You have to use parseltongue.” 

“I know,” she sighed, “and Myrtle and I are on good terms again. She stopped crying once I made that fish and cheese thing.”

Jinsoul nearly gagged thinking about it. Ghosts could taste things if they were _really_ rotten. Jungeun had somehow learned how to accelerate the decay of food and made something that’d filled the second floor with the worst stench ever. She’d given her that as a peace offering. 

“Anyway,” Jinsoul began, “I think I’ll just let all that happen now.” 

“How generous,” Jungeun drawled. “I think I’ll just double my list.”

“That’s not—”

“I know,” she laughed, leaning her head on Jinsoul’s shoulder before pulling away again, “I just needed to see the look on your face for that.” She kept laughing. “It’s sometimes the best part.”

“Of?” 

Jungeun stopped laughing. “Of,” she cursed softly, “oh great.” She put her face in her hands. 

“Did I hear that right?” Jinsoul asked. “The look on my face is the best part,” she trailed off, “and what about the rest?”

Jungeun looked up, half annoyed, half mortified. “You’re dragging this out.”

“Might be payback,” Jinsoul shrugged, “or I just don’t know what you’re talking about.” She was starting to figure out why they’d locked them out here. The thought made her face warm, but she ignored it. 

Her mouth fell open. “I can’t believe this.” 

“Believe it.” 

Jungeun narrowed her eyes. “You know what, I’m gonna try and see if that barrier’s immune to owls or not.” She got to her feet, turning away towards the edge of the balcony. 

Jinsoul stood up. “Hey,” she grabbed her hand, “wait?” She also knew very well that Jungeun wasn’t going to turn into an owl. She’d said as much herself. 

Jungeun stayed where she was. Even in the blue light, Jinsoul could see her ears were very much red. 

“Sorry for messing with you,” Jinsoul tugged on her hand so she was facing her, “it’s actually really easy.” 

“Please don’t do a whole getting even thing,” Jungeun said, avoiding her eyes. “I like my hair like this.”

She laughed. “If I am getting even, your hair isn’t the first on my list.”

“Do I even want to know?” Jungeun looked up at the ceiling. 

Jinsoul felt a bundle of nerves forming in her stomach. She tried to just focus on the fact that somewhere in Hogwarts, there was a room Jungeun had been stressed enough about that she’d turned into an _owl_. And that said room had been made for her. 

“Just so you know,” she moved a bit closer, “this isn’t just for the room.” She moved her hands up to her shoulders. 

Jungeun looked up at her, a tiny smile starting to show itself. 

Jinsoul kissed her. 

Then she hummed, her hands going to her waist. She kissed her back. 

When she pulled away, Jungeun went after her, catching her lips again. 

Jinsoul laughed. 

“Did you mean that?” Jungeun met her eyes, both hopeful and careful. “Or did you, well—“

Jinsoul kissed her again, the smell of roses, jasmine, and forests coming back. 

“Wow,” Jungeun muttered. “I kinda just thought you were gonna hug me.” She looked away again, lip tucked between her teeth. “Wow,” she repeated. 

She couldn’t help but giggle. Jungeun looked genuinely stunned. 

Jinsoul made them both sit down, before she tucked herself into Jungeun’s side. 

“So how long have you liked me?” Jinsoul asked. 

Jungeun sputtered. “What?”

“You’re saying you don’t?” She looked up at her. 

She opened her mouth, before closing it. She looked a bit like a fish. 

There was a knock on the door. 

“Please tell me you at least hugged it out!” Jiwoo called. 

“Yep!” Jinsoul called back. “We’re cuddling too.”

“Cuddling?” Jungeun repeated. 

“Want me to tell them what actually happened?” Jinsoul knew she was close to being absolutely infuriating herself, but the nervousness from earlier had disappeared. 

Sounds came in from the other side. It sounded like metal being bent. Jinsoul wondered what they’d even done to block that door. 

Jungeun was whacking her arm, but there was no force behind it. “I wanna say I’m surprised at this,” she glared at her, “but you were just like this when you threatened to put me in a cage.” 

The door opened. Jiwoo immediately appeared. 

“Oh my god!” Her smile was blinding. “They’re actually cuddling.” 

“Okay,” Haseul said, “we can let them back in.”

Jungeun straightened. For what seemed like the tenth time, she said, “what?” 

Jiwoo disappeared behind the door again. “Just come back in before we change our minds!”

Jinsoul stood up, pulling Jungeun with her. 

“They,” Jungeun was frowning at the door, “set this up?” When they went inside again, she looked at the ones there. “You were all in on this?”

Chaewon gave her two thumbs up. “You literally tried summoning seven blue betta in preparation for her becoming head girl.” She looked slightly disgusted. “And that’s just a weird present to give to someone who isn’t your girlfriend.”

“Really?” Jinsoul looked at her, only to see her glaring daggers at the other Slytherin. 

“She got one blue betta and six goldfish.” She rolled her eyes. “Guess what happened.” 

“You let it eat them?” 

“It attacked one!” Jungeun looked between the others and Jinsoul. “And then I pulled it out. I didn’t know they were evil.”

“They’re not evil,” Jinsoul shot back. “They’re carnivorous.”

“Well—”

Hyejoo promptly started pushing Jungeun to go down the stairs, holding her shoulders so she wouldn’t trip. “If you break up because Jungeun’s too dumb to understand fish, then I’m rioting.”

“We can’t break up yet,” Jinsoul countered. 

“Yet?” Jungeun squawked, but it was very much a human sound. 

Jiwoo squealed, while Chaewon and Hyejoo exchanged a knowing smile. 

_____

Jungeun practically dragged her up the stairs. 

“Do you never get tired?” Jinsoul narrowly avoided a trip step, but still tripped. “You snored in Charms.” While the professor had been telling them some _very_ important things about N.E.W.Ts. Jungeun had been fast asleep, but her quill had been writing what he’d said down word for word. 

Jungeun steadied her, still wearing that excited smile. Once it would’ve been frightening, but Jinsoul loved it now. “Oh I’m tired,” she said. “But I want you to see this.” She’d recoloured her hair to make it a light brown. She’d insisted on having a streak of blonde and Jinsoul had spent several minutes convincing her to not have a green streak in her hair. She’d gone with red instead. 

She resisted saying the next remark. 

“Nothing’s gonna explode,” Jungeun was saying, “that already happened.” She pointed at her singed robes. “But that’s something else.”

“Something else?”

Jungeun looked sheepish. “You’ll find out later.” 

They reached the seventh floor. Jungeun was practically skipping now, seemingly anxious and giddy at the same time. Jinsoul could almost imagine her as an owl flapping her wings and hopping from place to place. 

“If you don’t want her, we can send her back.” Jungeun put a hand to the door. “And I’ll help you as much as I can. I did a lot of research.” She chewed on her lip, grip on Jinsoul’s hand tightening. 

“This isn’t a dragon, is it?” They’d talked about this. For some reason, Jungeun really wanted to try raising a dragon. Jinsoul had needed to tell her several times that it took actual training. Even the second year, now a third year, had needed to go to Hagrid for help, because Jinsoul hadn’t known enough about it. She did now, but there were only certain dragons she was certain she could tame. 

“Might be better,” Jungeun said, eyes flickering from place to place. “Or worse.” 

“Just open the door,” Jinsoul told her. “Before I start getting worried.”

She did. Nothing jumped out at them except for the coos of a few birds, the chatter of bowtruckles, and the shuffling of cats. 

As always, Jinsoul felt at ease coming back here. It made for a great place to clear her head, but she never came here to study. She always got too distracted, be it playing with the cats, talking to the bowtruckles, or feeding the fish. 

Jungeun walked in, pulling her along. She looked extremely nervous now. She was looking at something on the forest floor. There was a basket, the cloth within it slightly charred. 

There was a soft screeching sound. 

Jinsoul gasped and went over, but she didn’t let go of Jungeun’s hand. 

“Eun,” Jinsoul stared at it, “is that really a—” She knelt down beside it. The bird’s feathers were slightly matted, covered in soot too. The egg shells were still there. They were a deep gold and red. It was tiny, barely larger than her hand. 

“I can send her somewhere for a bit raising it’d be too stressful,” Jungeun said. “They agreed that you might be too young and that it’d be no problem. Just as long as they meet you first.”

“You got me a phoenix,” she carefully reached out a hand, “a phoenix.” She ran a ringer along its head. It leaned into the touch, feathers warm. 

“Is this too much?” Jungeun was frowning. “Because I know they’re hard to domesticate. And whatever happens in the future, it’s definitely yours and—”

“It’s a lot,” Jinsoul nodded, “but not too much.” They’d talked about Jungeun _not_ going absolutely crazy with the room and making it even more extravagant. She’d figured out how to put stars in over last Christmas and then spent days trying to make it more detailed. Jinsoul had had to drag her out of the room to stop her from spending way too much time on it. 

And then she’d promptly told her to stop trying to make up for every single prank she’d pulled. 

“It’s not _all_ for that,” she’d mumbled. 

Jinsoul had felt a small flutter at that. “And if it’s for me, you need to slow down. I suck with gifts.” She didn’t exactly feel guilty, because Jungeun’s eyes never failed to light up when she gave her something she’d tried charming to the best of her abilities. Still, Jungeun always managed to blow her away with what she could manage with her magic. 

Jinsoul gently picked up the phoenix, running her thumb over its side. Her eyes were burning. 

“I didn’t know if she’d be the right one to get you,” Jungeun was saying, “and then when you chose phoenixes for your project and started talking about how difficult they are to raise, I wasn’t sure if you still wanted one. Especially now.” Her eyes flicked between Jinsoul and the bird. “But since you got Head Girl and—” 

“Jungeun,” Jinsoul leaned over, the phoenix still cradled in her hands, “I’m keeping her.” She pressed a kiss to her cheek. “And if you think it’ll be too much, you can help me raise her.” She lifted the phoenix up. “Have you even held her yet?” 

“They made me carry the egg up.” Jungeun looked a bit surprised when the bird was placed into her hands. “And I watched it hatch on the way up. I wish you’d been able to see that.”

“It’s okay,” Jinsoul grinned, “I’ll get to watch her take her first flight.” Then she realised something, getting excited just by the thought of it. “You could help me teach her!” She could already see Jungeun as an owl flying with her. Jinsoul would fly with them on the broom. “This’s going to be amazing.” She went over and leaned her head on Jungeun’s shoulder. “Please tell me you didn’t pay a lot for this.”

“I didn’t,” Jungeun replied. “They wanted those boxes, so I made some more. Then a little bit of work over the summer. And then I got a really great discount.”

“Did they already give her a name?” Jinsoul melted at the sight of Jungeun holding the phoenix.

She shook her head. “That’s up to you.”

“Blue?” 

Jungeun’s brow rose. “If you want?” 

“You don’t like it?” 

“I mean,” Jungeun glanced at the cat curled up beside Jinsoul, “you did call that cat Pluto.” 

“It’s a great name.” 

“You named him after a dog.” 

Jinsoul was tempted to start convincing her, but she knew Jungeun would give in the moment she did. “What did you have in mind?” 

Jungeun’s eyebrows rose higher. “She’s yours.” 

“You saw her hatch.” Phoenixes didn’t imprint, but Jinsoul wouldn’t tell her that yet. “And she already likes you.” She cooed at how the bird nuzzled it’s head into Jungeun’s palm. 

“I’m worse at naming things than you are.” 

Jinsoul stuck out her tongue. “Try to think of one.” She wrapped her arms around Jungeun’s shoulders. “If it’s better than blue, maybe we’ll take it.” 

Jungeun smiled. She looked at the phoenix for a long time, brow furrowed ever so lightly. 

She couldn’t help but hold her tighter. As ridiculous as she could sometimes be, Jungeun usually took Jinsoul’s love for creatures and animals seriously. As Sooyoung had said many times, she ended up encouraging it too, with most of their friends trying to stop them. 

Of course she teased her, but that came with being her girlfriend. Especially if said girlfriend went on about which creatures she’d study once she got out of school. 

But then she did something like this too. 

“Eclipse,” Jungeun said. “The sun’s almost swallowed by the moon before it pulls away. Then that repeats. Just like she will.” She kissed Jinsoul’s forehead. “You’re always so sad when one of them passes. I was either gonna get you something immortal or something that lives really, really long.” 

“You’re such a softie,” Jinsoul muttered. 

“Says you.” 

“You cried for Goofy too.” She felt a small stab just thinking about that cat. 

Jungeun huffed once. 

“I think Eclipse works,” Jinsoul let the phoenix nip her finger, “wasn’t that a password?” 

“It was the answer to a riddle,” Jungeun replied. “The one when you smuggled me into the common room.”

She laughed. “I think I’m gonna have to smuggle this one in too.” She leaned her head against Jungeun’s. “Thank you, but you need to start giving me bad gifts too. Even things out.”

“I thought everything else I did balanced that out.” 

“Everything else,” Jinsoul said, “has been toned down.”

Jungeun chuckled. “Just wait, I’ve got some things planned.” She brought Eclipse a bit closer, holding her up to Jinsoul. “And then you’ll be sending her after me.”

______

“You’re serious?” Sooyoung was staring at the bird. “You actually got her one?”

Jungeun looked proud as she nodded. “Yep.” 

“They don’t breathe fire, right?” Chaewon peered down at it. “Because if they do, you’re never bringing it to our common room.”

“Or ours,” Heejin added. 

“They _don’t_ ,” Jinsoul pinched both their arms, “and are you seriously saying you don’t want to have a _phoenix_ near you?”

“If they attack me, no,” Chaewon shot back. 

“They’re peaceful creatures,” Jinsoul said. “And I already know she’s a sweetheart.” She took Jungeun’s hand, squeezing it lightly. 

Sooyoung grimaced. “You’re so whipped,” she was looking at Jungeun, “and she’s even worse now too. Thanks to finally being able to make her own zoo.” She glared at Jinsoul, but there was no bite to her voice. 

“You haven’t been attacked by an animal in months,” Jungeun replied. “And if you were, it was either Hye’s fault, or mine.”

“You’re not helping your case,” Hyunjin remarked. 

“I know.” Jungeun grinned. “But Jinsoul had a flying seahorse, a kneazle, and pixies at the end of last year, and none of you were attacked by any of them.” 

“What the hell’s a kneazle?” Hyejoo frowned. 

“A very angry cat,” Jungeun muttered, rubbing her arm. “That hates owls.”

“They’re cat-like,” Jinsoul corrected. “And he just hated you.”

Yeojin looked between them for a moment. Then she turned to Yerim. “And you wanted _these two_ to get together?” 

Yerim just nodded. 

As the others started to debate on whether or not they’d seen the kneazle around Jinsoul last year, Jinsoul slipped her arms around Jungeun’s waist. 

“I’m sorry for Hazel,” Jinsoul whispered. 

Jungeun laughed softly. “I told you it was fine.”

“Still,” she sighed, “you should’ve gotten mad at me.”

“It was the mutant cat’s fault,” Jungeun said. “You told me you can’t exactly tame them. You also got him when he’d already decided he hated most people.” Then she pecked her cheek. “And if you end up trying to raise a dragon, a few scratches on my arm will probably be the least of my worries.” 

Jinsoul felt her chest lighten. “You’d help?”

“Help,” she shrugged, “probably wouldn’t do a good job at it, but I’d watch. If you’re okay with that.”

Jinsoul kissed her, before quickly pulling away. Even then, she heard Chaewon gag. “I’d love that.” 

Jungeun smiled. “Great. That’s,” she trailed off. 

“Great?” 

She nodded, pressing a longer kiss to her lips. 

“Get a room!” Hyejoo called. “Isn’t that what you made it for?”

“They stare!” Jungeun grimaced. “And Jinsoul keeps saying they’re too innocent to see any of that.”

Sooyoung cringed. “Spare me the details, please.”

Jinsoul laughed as Jungeun defended herself, her ears reddening again. She pulled her closer as their friends started bringing back stories of how Jungeun had tried and failed to transfigure the room before, making an actual swamp and a desert out of it, before she finally made it a forest. 

She watched as Jungeun busied herself with adjusting Eclipse’s basket, repairing the parts that’d been burned or torn. 

Jungeun caught her looking. "What?" 

Jinsoul smiled. "Nothing." She rested her head on her shoulder. 

She hadn’t told her yet. She was still working on her own gift, a charmed set of trinkets she hoped Jungeun would adore as much as she had the last. She’d also ordered a fair amount of things from Weaselys' Wizard Wheezes and was still trying to figure out how to make an empty music score that’d fill with the notes for the songs Jungeun liked to play. 

And then, once she’d figured out all that, she’d tell Jungeun. 

She just hoped Jungeun wouldn’t beat her to it and say those words first. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally, this story's finished. I wrote this in a really short time. I needed a break from the business that is current life, as well as my other stories. This's probably one of the most light-hearted things I've written and I honestly adore it. Loona in Hogwarts is something I knew I wanted to write, but I'd never really known what I'd do. Then I suddenly thought of these two being rivals (which isn't uncommon) and Jungeun being an animagus. The ideas kept coming, which is also why this story is a fair amount longer than I'd intended. 
> 
> Either way, I hope you enjoyed it. I definitely want to come back to this world, maybe with the other characters, but at the moment I don't have enough to make another story. Still, thank you for reading this! I hope there wasn't much confusion when it came to the HP universe, but if there was, just let me know. If you had any thoughts while reading, I would love to read them! 
> 
> Twitter: @hblake44  
> https://curiouscat.me/hblake44


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